The Darkness Inside
by x-MewHazzard-x
Summary: My name is Rae Wood and I can...do things with the dark...with shadows. But I have trouble controlling it at times and so I went to the Xiaolin Temple looking for help and coincidently found the Heylin...and a guy named Jack. OCxJack OCxRai RaixKim OCxOC [I will probably change the summary again either back to the old one or to something new again :] heh]
1. Chapter 1

**HEEEY all my Xiaolin and Heylin buddies! How have you all been? Me? Well, I've been working my socks off with my graphics coursework because I suck and I quite clearly hate myself since I left everything to the week before I have to submit my work :D ... D,,,: Why did I do that?**

**Anyway, since I don't have the programming at home to continue working, I decided to write instead and came up with a new character and a currently simple story plan.**

**Enjoy~ :)**

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***~The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 1 ~***

My name is Rae Wood and ever since I could remember I've had these strange abilities that I've never really understood. My father didn't like it and pretended that I was another normal child with no extraordinary powers whatsoever. If I so much as utter a single word about it, he would send me a look of warning and swiftly change the subject.

I didn't like the powers that much either, to be honest, they caused me a lot of bother throughout my life so far. They even frightened me at one point, as they had become a little uncontrollable. It had taken a lot of concentration and focus to keep them in check – and believe me, when you don't know what it is you're trying to do exactly, it's difficult as hell!

Coming up to the age of nineteen and I was just beginning to understand what kind of power I possessed. I had sent a letter, describing my situation and expressing my request and need for help and assistance to a temple called the Xiaolin Temple.

I didn't know if they could really help me…but if they could…I wanted the chance to expand my grasp of this magic. I wanted to chance to experiment the limits. I wanted to learn what they were and why I, of all people, possessed them. I wanted answers and power over the power, so to speak. I just needed the guidance to help me achieve those goals.

And the Xiaolin Temple was my first and only lead! Fingers Crossed.

* * *

The alarm clock buzzed loudly on my bedside table and as it continued its torture on my ears, I slowly sat up in bed groaning the whole way up to sitting. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and saw, when I took my hands away, that I had forgotten to remove my make up again last night as I had dark smudges on my hands. I sighed heavily and reached over to the alarm, flicking the off switch. I yawned.

"I hope you didn't hit that snooze button again, Rae!" my father's voice called up from the lower level of the house. He must have been in the kitchen eating his breakfast and reading the morning newspaper as usual. _The early bird gets the worm, _was one of his favourite mottos. It was not one of mine.

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled and clumsily rose from the bed. I picked up a pile of crumpled clothes from the floor and walked towards the bathroom while calling down to him, "I'm up already!"

"Good, because those jobs aren't going to come looking for you now, are they?" his voice replied and I rolled my eyes as I could quite clearly imagine the smug face in which he said it. He knew full well that I was doing my best to find a job but everything available was taken and everything else required experience of some kind.

_If only I had tried harder at school_, I thought sadly staring at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. But I shook my head and decided to push those thoughts to the back of my mind. That was in the past, I couldn't do anything but move forward and keep trying – and keep trying, I shall!

I showered quickly and threw on the clothes I had scrambled from my bedroom floor. It consisted of black leggings that straightened out when I pulled them on, a plain black t-shirt (which _didn't_ straighten out when I pulled it over my head), a pair of black socks and a white hoodie with a red and black flowery design all over it (it wasn't all that crumpled thankfully, maybe the material was too heavy to crease in one night). I then re-applied my makeup, which was of black eyeliner inside the lid and black liquid eyeliner along the top eyelash line. Returning to my room, I swept up my green converse and laced them up on my feet. I suppose I was something of a goth but I wasn't hard-core or anything.

Bobbing down the stairs and in to the kitchen I passed my father who, like I said, was getting up to date with the latest news at the table.

I threw some bread in the toast and while waiting for my breakfast to cook, turned to my father, "Anything interesting happen?"

His eyes flicked up to my face over his reading glasses, which were perched on the end of his nose, and over his paper. His face scrunched up a little before straightening out again as he returned his gaze to the paper in hand and asked lazily, all the while ignoring my question, "Are you really going to wear those clothes today?"

I looked down at my attire and asked confused, "What's wrong with this outfit?"

"They don't exactly make you look sophisticated and ready to get in to the work place, love," he commented, turning a page.

I sighed heavily and frowned at him. A few moments of silence later and my toast popped up behind me alerting me that they were cooked and ready to eat. I turned and placed them on a plate that was already waiting on the side board. I then reached over to retrieve the knife and butter from the table beside my father and spread it all over my toast, right to the edges. Once done, I dropped the knife in to the washing up bowl and returned the butter to the fridge before it began to melt.

I ate my breakfast standing up, staring out of the kitchen window, watching the clouds go by. I watched some birds fly past and, as I had done since I was little, wondered what it was like up there and what we looked like all the way down here.

"Right," I turned to my father who had risen from the table and folded the newspaper under his arm. He reached down and picked up at his bag which held some papers and his work laptop. He came over and kissed my cheek, "I shall see you when I get home, Rae. Remember to do the washing up and clean the bedrooms."

"Yes, father," I agreed after I kissed his cheek goodbye in return.

He smiled, "Good girl," then he swiftly took his leave.

I waited until I heard the front door close loudly behind him. "ARRRGGGH!" I groaned loudly. Ugh! The frustration of trying so hard to look for a job and not finding one yet being spoken to as if I was sat lazing around all day, plus the frustration of being reminded of my chores even though I've been doing the same chores every day for the past – I don't know – twelve years, maybe? It was just so bloody annoying and unnecessary!

Ugh! I felt like I could just punch right through the wall!

That was when I saw them move in the corner of my eyes. I sucked in a breath and sent the anger away instantly. The emotion simply evaporated in to concern as I kept my gaze transfixed on the darkness that had most definitely moved just then.

"No," I spoke to it calmly and pointed a finger at the shadow, "Not today. Stay."

Just then there was a clang and I jumped just before realising that it was the postman delivering today's mail. I laughed a little at my own expanse, for being so easily frightened. But the smile did not remain as I noticed that the shape had moved again, but back to where it had been before the anger.

"Good," I said aloud as if it were a creature capable of understanding – maybe it was, I wasn't sure.

I retrieved the mail and skimmed through the letters all addressed to my father, as usual…except for one.

My eyes widened. Maybe it was a job offer or a letter of acceptance!_ You got the job!_ It would say! I ripped the envelope open eager to see if I could make my father proud at last and make him stop his constant nagging of the subject.

I was wrong, it wasn't a job offer but I was far from disappointed. It was a reply from the temple and they had invited me to join them and learn with them! I was ecstatic! I jumped up and down excitedly and quite literally hugged the letter close to my chest, creasing the paper.

"I should start packing!" I reminded myself out loud and quickly dashed upstairs to begin. _I really hope Dad doesn't change his mind about this_, I prayed inwardly as I reached my room and dragged the suitcase out from under my bed.

* * *

**Hazzard - **Apologies for any misspellings or grammatically incorrect...err...wordings? Yeah...well you know what I mean ;)

**Jack -** Oh, not you again! Why do you always have to drag me back to your house? Just when I think I'm free, you show up and kidnap me again! You keep on and I'll...I'll tell my mom!

**Hazzard - **You keep on and I'll cut your tongue out! :D

**Jack - **What! D:

**Hazzard - **Nah! I'm just kidding, I wouldn't do that! I love you too much, buddy! ^_^** *hugs***

**Jack -** o_e Please get off of me

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	2. Chapter 2

**So I went to a party last night and basically I feel like crap today x') Not gonna do that again :p I like to party but I'm usually the designated driver of the group and I think I prefer to remain in that role, to be honest. Hahahaha... TT~TT**

**Anyway~ Chapter 2 of the story is up! :)**

**Enjoy~~!**

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***~The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 2 ~***

"I just…I'm not sure," father grumbled, with a hand in his blonde hair while he frowned at my packed suitcase.

We were in the hall and he had returned home almost an hour ago, but we still hadn't changed location yet. The moment I heard the lock click and the door open I rushed to meet him and present the letter. I couldn't hide my excitement and I didn't want to either – maybe I could guilt trip him in to letting me go, as a last resort. Right now he wasn't too happy about it.

"But you said it was fine when I sent my letter to them," I whined reminding him.

He heaved a sigh and replied in an irritated tone, "I know but I didn't think…I didn't think they would reply so quickly…or at all, to be honest."

"But then isn't it better that they did?" I pointed out and explained my point eagerly, trying to persuade him to let me go there and learn from the temple masters, "Doesn't that show that they care for the students who practise there?"

"And what is it you are planning on practising?" he snapped at me angrily. He was beginning to lose his temper again.

I shouted back, "What do you think? I'm going there to learn how to control the pow-"

"Rae!" he barked interrupting me. He narrowed his eyes and hissed in a warning tone, "The only way you'll be able to go on in life is if you ignore those…_things_ and pretend that you don't possess any sort of hocus pocus and that you never did! Once you learn how to forget, it won't bother you anymore. It won't exist!"

"Are you serious?" I asked incredulously and laughed spitefully, "Father, if you really think that ignoring the darkness is going to make it stop then you are far more idiotic than you usually are with this topic."

I saw the rage flash through his eyes and the way his jaw moved and tightened. I had hit a nerve and it scared me a little but I kept up the confidence in my facial expression and my stance. I was not going to back down. I wanted this far more than I had ever wanted anything in my life.

"Rae," he began in a strained but calm voice, as if he was battling with the anger boiling inside. It was apparently too much to contain as it boiled over and he shouted angrily, "I don't want you traveling all the way to this silly temple in order to gain control over something that I would rather you ignored whole-heartedly. Now I want you to take your suitcase, unpack all of your clothes and stay in your room for the rest of the night!"

He was in my face by the end of his sentence, nostrils flaring in rage. I glared at him desperately trying to remain brave but my eyes trembled, betraying me and the tears broke free. I grabbed for the suitcase and hulled it upstairs as quickly as I could and, once in my room, I slammed the door and kicked the suitcase over as the sobs erupted from my body.

I turned and punched the door in anger and the light bulb illuminating my room smashed and went out. I ignored it, I knew something would happen. It always did when I felt like this. The powers were harder to control when my emotions were wild, and the tears wouldn't stop.

I felt the shadows moving around me but not quite coming close enough to touch me. They kept their distance as they knew I didn't like them very much but they continued to dance behind me as I cried in to the wood of my bedroom door.

"Why doesn't he understand?" I wept punching the door again and I heard things falling behind me. I whispered through my tears, "I just want this to stop. I want control."

I turned and watched as they fell in to the ground shrinking from my views. Yet they continued to swirl and slither slowly around on my carpet.

My eyes swept over them, trying to pretend that they weren't there, and found my knocked over suitcase…and then an idea struck me! A surge of adrenalin bombarded my system and the shadows could feel it too as they simply couldn't keep in one place anymore. They rapidly jumped around the room keeping out of my way as I reached for my suitcase and decided that I was going to the temple, whether my father liked it or not!

I was nineteen years old and I'd be damned if I let that man force me to remain frightened of my powers my entire life! No! I was going to the Xiaolin Temple and he wasn't going to stop me!

* * *

The flight was uneasy and I couldn't stop fidgeting or even get to sleep when I attempted to. It wasn't because of the last-minute-booked, only-what's-left-available, uncomfortable seating that I had to endure. I could have coped with that. It was the guilt of leaving just a letter behind and just the leaving in general.

As the adrenalin subsided and the shadows reseeded out of sight, the guilt slowly crept in to my body and tugged at my heart strings. _How could you do that to him? How could you leave him all alone like that? Like she did._

I grumbled and buried my face in my hands, ashamed of my decision. But running on the fact that it was too late now, I was already in China and he may have already realised by now that I had run away. It was way too late to turn back now.

So I kept that in mind all the way through the airport and all the way on the taxi journey to the temple and all the way to temple gates.

I paid the driver and exited the cab. He drove off almost instantly but I couldn't enter just yet. I was frozen at the gates, captivated by the beauty of it. The gardens were neatly kept, the shrubs weren't wildly out of hand like they were at home and the flowers were all colourful and in full bloom. The architecture of the temple buildings was amazing too. All traditionally designed, like in paintings I had seen and images on television of old spiritual grounds.

The fact that it all looked just so perfect intensified the once dull fear of not feeling welcome, of feeling out of place. Another reason, why my legs were frozen at the gates.

The wind softly blew in from behind me as if to push me in and give me a hand to start. My black hair was pushed forward in to my eyes from the breeze, so I brought my hand up to brush it aside again and keep it in place.

Few silent moments passed until, "So, you going in or what?"

I jumped away from the voice beside me and when I looked…I found no one. I looked around and then down and found a green lizard looking up at me. I stared at it in disbelief.

"Did you…" I began but trailed off. That was ridiculous! As if a lizard could talk!

"Did I, what?" he asked and my eyes widened. After around three seconds of my mind trying to find the logic in the situation and failing, I screamed backing away. He held up his front claws in surrender and cried, "Hey! Hey! Hey! What's wrong? What did I do?"

"You…you can talk!" I cried pointing at him in somewhat fear and somewhat surprise.

"Yeah, I can," he nodded in agreement and then crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, "Geez, at least the other monks didn't react like that."

"But how?" I asked confused, "You're just a lizard."

"Ah- Dragon, actually," he corrected me narrowing his eyes as if it annoyed him a little.

"Dragon?" I asked slowly, slowly coming to terms with talking to another species in plain english, "As in fire breathing?"

"Yeah, but don't ask for any tricks, the fire in my belly is a little lacking lately and it'll only result in you coughing up your lungs from the cloud of soot that I'd have just puffed in to the air," he shrugged as if it was normal but then added almost defensively, "But don't get the wrong idea! Anyone who gets on the wrong side of Dojo Kanojo Cho is most likely heading for an early grave as a spit roast."

That didn't calm the nerves one bit but he didn't seem all that keen on roasting me so I allowed myself to breathe a little easier.

"Are you scaring our guest, Dojo?" the dragon and I looked back to the gates and saw an elderly man approaching.

"Ah! Master Fung, right?" I asked a little nervously.

He smiled kindly and nodded, "Yes, young one, and would I be correct in assuming that you are the new student, Miss Word?"

"Call me Rae," I replied extending my hand to shake his. He accepted the handshake and then went on to bow as well. I looked between the master and Dojo and decided to awkwardly bow as well, in fear of being rude otherwise.

"I hope that Dojo didn't frighten you," Master Fung said and then narrowed his eyes at the little dragon as he added, "Or annoy you in anyway."

"Oh no, I was just a little…surprised," I explained, my eyes flickering between them, "Lizards don't talk from where I come from and there aren't any dragons either. Are you really a dragon?"

Dojo threw me an unimpressed look. I shrugged, "Sorry, it's just, well, aren't dragons a little…bigger?"

"Excuse me?" and all of a sudden the little shrimp of a lizard was more than ten feet tall and staring down at me with his big yellow eyes, "Do I look small to you?"

My voice caught in my throat and the fear paralysed me once again. There really was a dragon staring me down right now in this moment. How would father react if he knew? I dread to think.

"Dojo, she was merely asking a question," Master Fung commented, looking up at the dragon, seeming almost bored. Not even moved in the slightest. So this was normal for them, huh?

The dragon shrank back down again and smiled triumphantly, "Yeah, but the look on her face was priceless!"

Master Fung shook his head as if tired of the dragon's antic and then turned back to me smiling again, "If you would like to follow me, I shall show you to your dorm and your sleeping quarters. I hope you don't mind sharing, Rae, you are not the only young student at the temple."

* * *

**Hazzard - **Introducing Dojo and Master Fung! :D Next chapter Rae meets the other monks she'll be learning with :)

**Jack -**Am I in this story or not? -_-

**Hazzard** \- Of course you are :D How could I write a Xiaolin Showdown fanfic without Jack Spicer in it? :) It would be boring other wise ;)

**Jack** \- True, true.**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3~ :) I'm gonna write as much as I can until I get bored again and start having to force myself to keep writing x'D ahaha!**

**Anyway~ Enjoy~~~!**

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***~The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 3 ~***

"I shall leave you to get settled in. Dinner is at seven in the main hall that I briefly showed you earlier," Master Fung told me. I nodded in acknowledgement, as he added, "I will not ask you to help with the preparation of dinner since you have only just arrived, but you will be required to assist in the future."

"Okay," I agreed, dropping my suitcase in the middle of the little space I had. It could hardly be referred to as a room…or even a bloody bed, to be honest. But I decided to keep that to myself. They were going to help me after all. I looked around and then back at Master Fung and Dojo who was resting around the Master's shoulders, "Thank you."

"No worries, kid," Dojo replied as Master Fung bowed and they exited.

I looked at my sleeping space again and sighed. _Well, here I am._

Then my curiosity got the best of me and I peered around the thin paper wall that separated my space from the other four monks that slept here.

The sleeping space next to mine was relatively empty. There was the same mat and blanket and just a small little photographs in a frame. I walked over and picked it up, taking a closer look. There was a little kid with a big round head smiling at the camera, next to him was a much taller, broader boy with blonde hair wearing a cowboy's hat, also smiling. On the other side of the little boy was a girl with long black hair tied up in pigtails, she had her hands on her hips and had her eyes narrowed at the next boy over but she was also smiling as well. The boy who she was half-heartedly glaring at was laughing so much his eyes were shut when the photo was taken. He was slim with brown hair and tanned too. Master Fung was also in the picture just to the right of the group, with Dojo smiling at his feet with his arms crossed.

_They must be the other monks,_ I decided and placed the photograph back where it had rested.

I then travelled on to the next section of the room and found a very different scene. There was a coiled up lasso in the corner and bull horns hung on the wall directly above the sleeping mat. _Ah, the Cowboy._ The next space was probably a little too packed with things that the person probably didn't need. I mean there was a surf board propped up against the wall, for goodness sake! When are you going to use a surf board in a meditation temple? I wasn't sure whose space it was but when I moved on to the next space I realised that it must have been one of the other two boys because this last section was definitely the girl's room. There was a rack of clothes against the wall and some make up lying around next to a little mirror. There were also a few technical gadgets here and there.

_Hm…they're all very…diverse_; I realised and jumped when I heard the door open.

"Oh," and there they were. All stood there looking at me for a moment while I stared back wondering what to do.

The little one was at the back of the group desperately trying to jump high enough to see over the other's heads, "What is it? Why are we not going in? What's going up?"

"I think you meant to say 'What's going _on_?' Omi, and I do believe this is the new student," the cowboy smiled and extended his hand out to me. I accepted it and smiled back shyly, "Howdy, I'm Clay."

"Rae," I replied.

"Hi, I'm Kimiko!" the black-haired girl greeted me happily and she shook my hand as well. I nodded still smiling and then turned to the next person.

He didn't offer to shake my hand but he smiled and nodded his head at me, "Yo, Raimundo."

"Hello," I looked down at the little monk who had walked up in front of me now. He was holding his hands together in front of him and he bowed to me respectfully and so, for the second time today, I bowed awkwardly back, "My name's Omi. You're not a dragon are you?"

"Omi!" Kimiko sounded annoyed at the question.

The little guy held up his hands and replied, "What? There are only four elements; she can't be another dragon…can she?"

Kimiko rolled her eyes and Clay stepped in, "I think what Omi's trying to say is – why are you joining the temple, Rae?"

"Oh, well, um," suddenly growing a little nervous I found it difficult to voice as they all seemed rather kind and I really didn't want to scare them away. I swallowed to clear my throat and replied, "I can do things…that other people can't."

"Like telekinesis?" Raimundo asked leaning against a wall with one eyebrow arched in disbelief.

I gulped and then shook my head, "No, not quite."

"Well, we can do things that other people can't, y'know," Kimiko told me as she hopped over to Raimundo and jabbed him in the ribs roughly with her elbow.

"Ow!" he complained. She smirked.

"Really?" I asked, "What can you do?"

"Being the dragon of water," Omi began and he was quite clearly proud of what he was saying, "I have the power to manipulate and control water."

"Oh, cool!" I cried in awe. He smiled his eyes shining with pride.

"Don't feed the kid's ego," Raimundo sighed and added, "Have you seen the size of his head already?"

"Besides we haven't fully learnt how to control our elements yet anyway," Kimiko added shrugging.

"What element are you?" I asked.

"I'm the dragon of fire," she told me and then pointed to the other's too, "Clay's the dragon of earth and Rai's the dragon off wind. Are you a dragon too?"

"No, or at least I don't think so," I replied truthfully. I wasn't really sure anymore. I then went on to explain, "But I have a sort of control over – and when I say this I mean like minor control – over shadows. Something like that any, as far as I can tell."

They all stared at me for the moment trying to decipher what I meant. At a loss for ways to explain I could only think of a demonstration. I looked around and my eyes rested on Clay's big shadow cast across the wall. I lifted my hand towards it and the others watched as it began to recede from the wall and begin crawling across the floor stretching from its caster, being Clay, and travelling towards my energy that was pulling it towards me. But before I let it touch me I snapped the connection and the shadow pinged back in to place where it had been on the wall.

"Oh…" was all that was said from Omi or anyone for a few moments. I stood there bashfully.

But just when I thought I had scared them off, I heard Raimundo say, "Cool."

I looked up at him in shock, "Really?"

"Yeah," he nodded, pushing off of the wall, "I've never seen someone do that before. Not without the help of Shen Gong Wu anyway."

"Shen Gong what?" I asked confused again.

"Shen Gong Wu!" Omi exclaimed, "They are mystical objects created by Grand Master Dashi more than a thousand years ago in the fight against evil!"

"Okay?" I said in response.

"Hey, we can talk over dinner if you like," Kimiko suggested, "Wanna head over there together?"

"Err, yeah, sure!" I replied smiling happily.

* * *

**Jack - **I still wasn't in this chapter

**Hazzard -** No, I said the monks were being introduced in this chapter.

**Jack -** Well then, when do I appear? :(

**Hazzard - **Maybe...next chapter? ;D

**Jack - **Really? :D

**Hazzard - **No ^_^

**Jack - **What? Why not? :(

**Hazzard - **Nah, I'm kidding, you probably will appear...at some point...soon'ish...maybe...

**Jack -** I hate you -_-

**Hazzard - **Love ya too ;D

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yet another chapter written on the day I don't particularly feel great. I will be going to sleep after this because I am very tired. Maybe I'll even get a review for this chapter ;D Nah, I still don't mind if there are no reviews at the moment. It's cool...*cries in corner***

**Anyway~ Hopefully soon :)**

**Enjoy~~~~!**

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***~The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 4 ~***

I was so exhausted that as soon as my head touched the top of my sleeping mat, I fell into deep sleep instantly. As I lay in bed dreaming about the day's events, I thought about my dad and how angry he had been, I thought about the shadows chasing me and jumping about wildly, I thought about the uncomfortable plane ride and then I thought about Master Fung, Dojo and the monks. They all seemed really nice and kind and I was so happy that they made me feel welcomed, I'm sure I must have been smiling in my sleep.

But sleep was cut short however as an alarm sounded and the monks and I were startled awake. Unaccustomed to this I was really confused as to what was happening. All I could do was watch as Omi, Kimiko and Clay ran out of the room followed by Raimundo who stopped at the foot of the bed and held out his hand to help me get up.

"What's going on?" I asked groggily.

"Someone's trying to break in to the vault," he explained, pulling me to my feet and then running out after the others. I ran after him, as quickly as I could. I didn't want to fall behind and get lost. I hadn't been shown the vault yet as Master Fung had said I would see it tomorrow for my first lesson with them.

"The vault? Where you keep those things?" I asked remembering bits and pieces of the conversation over dinner earlier.

"The Shen Gong Wu, yeah," he replied.

We all turned a corner and entered a big circular building. There were stairs descending and spiralling in to the floor around a big cauldron in the middle that didn't look like it was being used at the moment. Just when I was about to inquire if the Shen Gong Wu were kept down the stairs a figure flew out of the hole in the floor and cackled wickedly.

"Jack Spicer!" Omi cried, "No time, long see!"

"Omi, it's long time, no see," Raimundo groaned and grumbled, "I swear I've already told you that one before!"

Omi ignored Raimundo's correction and irritation with his mistake and pointed up at the boy in the air, "Return the Shen Gong Wu at once, Jack!"

I looked up at the boy in the air. He was wearing a thick black trench coat and swirly red and yellow goggles over his bright red hair. He had black eyeliner under his eyes, so definitely a goth and much more so than me, it seemed. He was also wearing an odd backpack that was the mechanism to which helped him fly. Like two mini helicopter blades either side him just above his head.

"Oh sure, sorry, chrome-dome. I'll just put these back, shall I?" he smirked.

"Oh, really?" Omi asked believing him. It was kinda cute that he was so gullible but at the same time, I felt sorry for him.

This Jack Spicer guy barked out a laugh, "Omi, I'm evil! What evil genius would just say 'Oh, okay. Here's your stuff back'? See this is why you're on the side you're on, because if you were on the Heylin side you'd be worse than me! Hahaha…wait, that came out wrong."

"Shouldn't you be pandering after some evil old hag somewhere?" Kimiko shouted up at him.

"Who? Wuya?" Jack asked, "You do realise that I haven't seen that old cow in weeks, right?"

"Who are you calling an old cow?" a ghostly figure drifted through the wall and joined the confrontation.

"Wuya! What are you doing here?" Omi asked, "And you Jack! Why are you both here?"

"We're not together!" Jack exclaimed as if the idea disgusted him.

Wuya rolled her eyes, "Definitely not in the way you're thinking, Jack, you should be so lucky. No, I'm here running an errand of my own actually."

"And what's that?" Raimundo asked challengingly.

The ghostly woman's big round eyes swept over many faces in the room before falling on me. She flew straight toward me and stopped just a mere few centimetres from my face.

"So it is true," she mumbled smiling.

"Hey, I don't think I've seen your face before," Jack said finally noticing me, "Are you their new pet or something? You know they've taken people under their wing before but then they seem to leave. Not sure why, but you'll find out, won't you, newbie?"

"What?" I asked a little discomforted by what he said.

"What are you talking about, Jack?" Kimiko asked angrily.

"Well, there was Jermaine, and Vlad and…" Jack trailed off.

"Jermaine found somewhere else to go and Vlad was always your puppet that you used to infiltrate us, Spicer!" Raimundo snapped back at the pale boy in the air, "You're just twisting the truth!"

Jack shrugged and looked at me, "Believe what you want to, honey, just be careful with what they tell you."

There was a moment where I just stared up at him in confusion while he stared down at me smirking until I decided to reply, "And why I should I believe anything you say, Spicer?"

He shrugged again and replied, "Like I said, believe what you want. You'll be the one who suffers in the end, newbie!"

"What's with all of this smart talking, Jack?" Clay asked suspiciously, "Your usual is just a whole lotta whining and crying about evil genius and Shen Gong Wu!"

"I have the Shen Gong Wu," Jack snapped back at the cowboy holding one of the pieces up to emphasise the point, "Well, most of them anyway!"

"Enough!" Omi shouted and jumped in to the air, "WATER!"

"Third arm sash!" Jack shouted and as Omi flew towards the boy, encased in a torrent of water. A blue sash with three claws on the end shot out, grabbed the little kid's leg and threw him across the room. He went crashing in to the wall and Jack just laughed.

"FIRE!" Kimiko screamed jumping in to action.

"EARTH!" Clay growled stepping up to help as well.

Jack just smirked and cried out, "Golden tiger claws!" I watched stunned as he quite literally ripped a hole in to thin air and jumped through just in time, causing Kimiko and Clay to collide with each other and knocked the other down. Jack had instantly reappeared jumping out of another crack in space and time just above them.

He smirked at Raimundo challengingly and Rai took the bait and charged, "WIND!"

Jack's grin widened showing his teeth and he held up yet another Shen Gong Wu, "Shroud of Shadow."

Spicer disappeared again but this time not through a hole in space, instead he disappeared under a cloak of invisibility it seemed. Raimundo used his element to slow his speed so that he didn't crash in to the wall and then just stopped and looked around.

"Um, Rai-" I began but he held his hand up silencing me. I had never seen the Shen Gong Wu, let alone seen them in action and this was a lot to take in. I could see now why they were so important.

Our eyes darted around the hall searching for anything that might give away the boy's position. Wuya was laughing and her laugh echoed around the hall eerily. Just when I thought maybe Jack had slipped away, Raimundo was flung in to the air backwards and smashed against the wall. He slid down as well.

Jack emerged from under his cover and laughed triumphantly.

"Oh, Jack, what a magnificent show of improvement," Wuya complimented floating over to him, "You've demonstrated skills and knowledge I never imagined you ever possessing."

"Hey! I told you," he said and pointed to himself to make it clear, "Evil genius here!"

I didn't know what to do. The others were currently knocked down and I was just standing there watching the bad guys have a chat about how good or bad a fighter this Jack Spicer was.

"What do you want with the Wu?" I asked. It was the first thing that came to mind. The pair of them turned to me as if just remembering that I was even there.

"You have witnessed just three of the Shen Gong Wu's powers," Wuya began and asked, "Can't you just imagine what all of them are capable of? What do you think we could achieve with all that power?"

I thought about for only a second before replying, "Almost anything."

Wuya smiled wickedly and came closer, "If you wanted the world, the Wu would provide it if you knew how to use them. If you wanted respect, the Wu could make that happen too. If you wanted control, the Wu can help with that as well."

"Control?" I repeated, "What do you mean?"

"Anything you ever wanted is in reach with the Shen Gong Wu," she continued and flew towards Jack again, "The only thing that will hold you back from getting what you want, are the monks' silly views on what is right and wrong. We're all allowed to be a little bit selfish sometimes, aren't we? Don't we all deserve to be a little bit spoiled? To treat ourselves every now and then?"

"I don't understand," I said trying to make sense of what she meant.

She just laughed under her breath and replied, "I think you do," she then turned to Jack, "Let's go, Jack, we have much to discuss."

"Really? You wanna work with me again? Because I'm not particularly happy about working with you, to be quite honest, Wuya," he grumbled.

"Jack, Jack, Jack," Wuya purred and then hissed, "Just open a damn portable back to the lab! We're losing daylight!"

"It's night time," he countered.

"Don't make me regret this alliance before it's even started, Jack!" she warned him.

"Okay! Okay!" he used the Golden tiger claws to open another rift in space and turned back to me before disappearing, "Catch later, newbie!"

With that they were gone and I was left standing there in the doorway of the temple's vault while my fellow students were knocked out around me. It slowly sank in that I had done nothing…nothing at all…

* * *

**Hazzard - **Apologies for any spelling mistakes (I accidently called Vlad Hans at first...how? x'D)

**Jack - **Yay! I appeared! :D

**Hazzard - **And? ;)

**Jack -** And I was totally bad-ass! :D That was freaking awesome!

**Hazzard - **You're welcome!

**Jack -** I never said thank you :p

**Hazzard - **You just did ^_^ Woo!

**Jack - **You are so annoying, Hazzard -_-

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you to HikariChild for the first review of the fanfic. It was very kind and helpful and made me think a little more into the story.**

**I'm currently unsure as to how I can explain the timeframe in which this story unfolds so I'll just explain in this author's note. T****he time zone that the story is set in, is loosely based after the last episode of Xiaolin Showdown with a few minor details changed here and ****there. The story does not contain or have anything to do with Chronicles as there is no Ping Pong, etc. :) Just the original series ^_^ So in this story, Raimundo is the leader of the group being the Shoku warrior, etc. but unlike the ending Wuya isn't in physical form at the moment (see, minor details).**

**Enjoy~~~~~!**

* * *

***~The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 5 ~***

"I'm really sorry, guys, I just didn't know what to do," I apologised for the thousandth time.

Kimiko smiled sympathetically and put her hand on my arm reassuringly while we waited for Clay and Omi to return from checking the vault. "Hey, don't worry about it, Rae," she said.

"Yeah, no worries," Raimundo added. He was looking rather annoyed as he leaned against the wall again, not making eye contact. He then went on to say, "So what, you just stood there and let the bad guys get away with most of the Wu, if not all of it? At least we're all okay, right?"

"Rai, she didn't mean to!" Kimiko defended me, "She didn't know what she was doing!"

Raimundo looked at her and they glared at each other for a few moments. Raimundo then sighed and pushed off of the wall, "She didn't have to just stand there though. She could have at least thrown a punch. It was Spicer, after all."

"And look what he did to _us_?" Kimiko pointed out and then stopped to think about it, "How _did_ he do that to us?"

"I have no idea," Raimundo shrugged, "But he was quicker than usual this time and his moves seemed much more calculated."

"Hardly anything left, buds," Clay announced reaching the top of the stairs with Omi behind him looking a little upset, "It's emptier than a poor man's stomach!"

"Anything at all?" Kimiko asked the cowboy.

He and Omi held up just four Shen Gong Wu.

"Right," Raimundo sighed, "So we have the Changing Chopsticks, the Denshi Bunny, the Eye of Dashi and the Mind Reader Conch…" he groaned and said sarcastically, "Brilliant. Absolutely flipping brilliant!"

"What's wrong?" I asked confused, "What can these Shen Gong Wu do?"

"Hardly anything in comparison to the Wu that Jack now has. Do you see what's wrong now, Rae? Do you see why you should have done something? At least something!" Raimundo snapped at me.

"Raimundo!" Kimiko shouted in an appalled tone but Raimundo was already stomping away too angry with me to stay and work out a solution to the problem at hand. Kimiko sighed heavily and then turned back to me, "Don't worry about Rai, Rae," she told me and said, "He'll come around. He's probably just a little shocked about Spicer beating us up."

"I think we all are, Kim," Clay agreed.

"I'm sorry," I repeated myself, lowering my eyes in shame.

Omi took my hand in his and said gently, "Don't be down-hearted, Rae, even someone as brilliant as I can make mistakes sometimes."

I lifted my eyes to his face and saw that he was actually completely serious and it occurred to me that what Raimundo had said about the kid's ego must have been true. In the end the comment had made me smile, it was a little funny after all.

When he saw the corners of my mouth lift, he smiled too.

"How about we teach you how to use these Shen Gong Wu?" Clay asked smiling kindly.

I nodded and smiled back, "Yeah, sure."

* * *

_*Third Person Point of View*_

Wuya circled the lab impatiently, waiting for Jack to wake up.

They had returned to his house and before she could start any kind of discussion, he had left the underground laboratory and went straight to his room. When she drifted through the house to find him again, she found that he was sound asleep…and snoring quite audibly too.

So now all she could do was float around, bored, like she had done for the past five hours.

"How much sleep does that selfish boy need anyway?" she snapped to no one in particular. She growled aggressively and punched the air with her ghostly hands, "If I had a physical form right now, that boy would have a fire-ball with his name on it! Doesn't he realise he has a guest to entertain? Urgh!"

"Wuya," the ghost lady would have jumped if she had had a body and turned to the big screen of the monitor which had turned on by itself. She saw Chase Young staring back at her.

"Ah, Chase!" she began holding her ghostly hands together; "You surprised me."

"You should have expected a call," he told her as if bored and then reminded her narrowing his eyes, "You were meant to report back to me, weren't you?"

"Oh, yes," she stuttered nervously, "I guess I got distracted by-"

"By Spicer, I know," Chase interrupted her, "I had one of my cats there spying as well as you."

"Oh, don't you trust me?" Wuya asked pretending to be offended.

"Not in the slightest," Chase replied almost instantly and Wuya's face fell. He continued, "I don't blame you for your lateness. I too was…intrigued by Spicer's show of…improvement, as you said at the scene. It was unlike him. It was better than him. Much better."

"So much better," Wuya agreed, nodding enthusiastically.

"I _am_ here, you know," Chase's eyes flickered to the side and Wuya turned to see Jack walking down the steps in to the basement, still in his pyjamas.

"Do you realise how long I have waited for you to wake up?" Wuya screamed in to the boy's face as he yawned, "So selfish!"

"Wasn't it you who was telling the newbie that it's okay to be a little selfish every now and then?" Jack reminded the ghostly woman.

She made to reply but Chase cut in, "Which brings me to the reason I called, Wuya. The girl."

"Ah, yes," Wuya replied, "I believe you were right. It must be her! They have the same eyes and the same aura! It's a near enough match for the prophecy – 'Like siblings but not so, In life their powers flow. The day and night. The start of the fight, between good and –"

"I know the prophecy, Wuya," Chase interrupted.

"What are you guys talking about?" Jack asked as if bored.

"That is currently none of your concern, Spicer," Chase replied just as bored and then added, lifting a corner of his mouth in to a half-smile, "But I would like to compliment you on your recent mission in retrieving the Shen Gong Wu. It was…impressive for someone of your standards."

Jack perked up, eyes shining from the praise of his idol, "Thank you…I think."

"I will be in touch," he said to Wuya before signing off. The screen went blank.

"So Jack, what is your next plan of action?" Wuya asked interestedly.

But Jack was still smiling up at the screen, "He was impressed…by me!"

Wuya rolled her eyes at the annoying boy.

* * *

**Jack - **Chase thought I was cool O_O

**Chase -** No, Hazzard just made you seem a lot more impressive than you really are in the last chapter -_u

**Jack - **Oh Chase! What are you doing here?

**Chase -** You remember how Hazzard kidnapped a couple of us last story? Yeah, she did it again.

**Jack** \- Oh, I thought it was only me this time :o

**Wuya** \- No...not quite...

**Jack** \- ***explodes in to laughter*** You're stuck in the fish bowl again! x'D Ahahaha!

**Wuya - *Grumble Grumble*** -_-

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	6. Chapter 6

**X-Men Days of Future Past is a good film :) I watched it Thursday with George, my boyfriend, and again today (Sunday) because my little brother wanted to watch it with my Dad because he was visiting today - and I always hang out with them because he's my dad too :') It's soooo gooooood and Jennifer Lawrence is like Hnnnnng! And Hugh Jackman - ASDFGHJKKL! HNNnNnNNnNNNNNNnnnG! *dies from overload of gorgeous people***

**ANYWAY~~~~~~!**

**That is the personal update done now here is chapter 6 ^_^ :)**

* * *

***~ The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 6 ~***

We had decided to wait for the next night to attack and regain the Wu we had lost yesterday on my first night at the temple. Kimiko, Clay and Omi had spent most of the day teaching me how to use the Shen Gong Wu that we still had, only for Raimundo to re-join us later on, when it was time to act, and decide that I was going to be the one left without a weapon _in case I lost it to the other side for doing nothing with it – for just standing there_. Instead of making unheard promises that I wouldn't just stand there this time, I just remained silent and followed as everyone climbed on to Dojo's back and we flew off.

When Jack's place appeared in the distant we began to drop out of the sky and landed about a mile off just to be sure that they didn't know we were coming.

"Okay," Raimundo began jumping down from Dojo's back. We all followed and Dojo shrank back down to the size of a snake, "We go in, we kick butt, we grab the Shen Gong Wu, we go home. Got it?" Everyone nodded. His eyes then trailed back to me, "Got it?"

I bit my tongue to keep from saying anything and just nodded to confirm.

He stared a second longer as if to make sure then glanced at the others and turned, "Let's go!"

We made it there quickly and quietly and arrived at the edge of the Spicer grounds. Jack must have been from a rather well-off – if not, rich – background because the property was massive.

The other monks leapt over with ease while I just stared up at the nine foot high wall in front of me struggling to come up with a way to get over. I wasn't all that athletic yet, I guess. I just knew that if I tried to simply jump like the others, I'd just end up colliding with the bricks, possibly causing myself pain if I used too much force.

Just as I was beginning to wonder if I should call them back to help me a rope flung over and circled around me. I looked down and realised it was lasso and whoosh! I had to bite my tongue again from screaming in surprise. I was pulled up and over the wall and began falling. Thankfully I was caught.

"Thanks, Clay," I smiled at him as he put me down.

"No problem, partner," he replied untangling me from the rope and hooking it back up to his belt.

"Come on!" Raimundo snapped quietly and ran off. We followed.

Quietly we made it to the house even though there were robots scouting the area everywhere. _Wow, that's some top security_, I thought,_ are we even going to get in?_ But just as the thought crossed my mind I watched as one robot bumped in to another and they began shooting each other. I frowned, now those were glitchy models.

A second floor window was open and like with the wall, Raimundo jumped up and through. This time though the others stayed outside with me. Maybe it was too high for everyone else – I mean, Raimundo was the dragon of Wind, right?

"This way," Kimiko whispered almost soundlessly.

We followed her lead now, round to the back of the house. We came to a back garden porch and we stayed low and hidden in the shrubbery. As the seconds passed all we could hear was the low hum of the robot's engines and a few crickets here and there.

Just then a light went on and the back door of the house swung open and Raimundo motioned for us to come. We glanced around at the two robots currently with us, to make sure they were facing away. They turned and we ran swiftly and silently to the door. We entered the house and Raimundo shut the door again.

_Oh my god, we're in!_ I thought as my heart beat was racing. This was all very exciting but it felt kind of wrong at the same time. Weren't we kind of doing the same thing that he had done to us? Breaking and entering? Stealing? I mean Jack had committed the crimes first, I guess, but does that really justify it? I wasn't sure but we had come this far it would be silly for me to voice my doubts now.

"What now?" I asked. Well, I _had_ never been here before so how was I supposed to know?

Raimundo just looked at me without answering and then he turned and walked away. The other's followed and so did I, rolling my eyes at the same time.

We came to a door in the hallway of the huge yet silent house. It was dark and it felt empty and hollow. Was there even anyone here?

Raimundo wrapped his hand around the door handle and turned to the rest of us, "Ready?"

The others held their Wu tighter and got ready to move. I decided to bend my knees slightly in a ready stance but I had no experience or Shen Gong Wu, so to be honest, not a fair fight on my part. Still I tried to at least look ready.

"One…two…" Raimundo turned and then threw the door open and charged inside, "THREE!"

My racing heart rang loudly in my ears causing me to miss the last count so I was slower to react. I watched the others fly in to the door and go descending down in to a basement cellar, where some light was emanating from. I heard a squeal and a few shouts some muffled others clearer.

"Third arm sash!" that was clearly Jack.

"Eye of Dashi!" I heard Omi cry out.

"Mind reader conch!" Raimundo's shout echoed up the stairs to my ears.

_I better get down there and help out if I want to convince Raimundo that I'm not as worthless as he seems to think I am,_ I warned myself and forced my feet to coöperate with my body.

The scene that I ran in to was of Jack getting punched round the face by Raimundo who had seemingly dodged a punch from the third arm sash. Clay and Kimiko were whizzing around the room looking for the Shen Gong Wu. It looked like they had found some too. Omi was zapping some robots that were circling the area and shooting recklessly. Jack's robot's weren't that amazing when you thought about it. Maybe I'll suggest that he send them back to their supplier sometime in the future.

I decided the most I could do was help Clay and Kimiko.

"What about this cabinet?" I asked and tried to open it. Kimiko rushed over, I told her, "It's locked."

"Move over!" she said and raised her hand in the air, "Changing chopsticks!"

She jumped and then began to shrink. As she sprang through the air she shrank to the size of a fly and landed on to the lock of the cabinet. She then moved inside of the key hole and seconds later there was a click and the door swung open. I was right, it was full of Shen Gong Wu.

As Kimiko exited the lock and used the Wu to resize herself again, I grabbed as many Shen Gong Wu as I could. When I couldn't carry anymore I turned and ran out of the basement. I thought about my next move. I couldn't go back to where Dojo was waiting because that was over a wall that I couldn't jump nor climb.

I put the Wu on the floor for now; some of them were rather heavy. _A bag would be useful, round about now,_ I thought. _A bag! I'll look for a bag! He should have one round here somewhere!_

I ran in to the first room I came to and flicked the switch. It was a living room area. There were twin couches either side of a dusty coffee table in front of an old, out-dated dusty television. The curtains were all drawn and dull, the colour faded from the sun. There were bookcases lining the walls filled with encyclopaedias and journals and biographies and old novels - all dusty. There were even cobwebs woven here and there. I couldn't see anything new on the shelves but then I wasn't really looking properly. All I could gather as my eyes swept the room, trying to find some sort of carrier bag, was the amount of dust present. It was like the room hadn't been used in weeks. Like it was filled, decorated and then sectioned off never to be lived in.

Pushing away the many questions that rose up in my mind, I walked around picking things up and looking around others continuing my search of a bag. My hands began to feel dirty as the dust clung to the moisture in my skin and made my fingers feel dry and disgusting. I brushed my hands on my jumper as I turned to walk out and saw a big A1 size framed picture on the wall.

There was a woman sat on a chair with a man standing by her side and a little boy in her lap. There was no doubt – it was his house after all – that the little boy was of course Jack. This meant that the woman was most likely his mother and the man was most likely his father.

The lady had long curly blonde hair that she had held up in a messy looking pony-tail but that didn't make her look any less of the person she appeared to be in the picture. She had one of those faces, you see, one of those smiles that looked perfect with whatever they wore or however they styled their hair. She looked happy too, genuinely happy. She was wearing a white shirt that was tucked neatly in to a pencil skirt, but the sleeves were unbuttoned as if to give off that classy but free-spirited feel.

The man behind her was all suited up smartly and he had his hand on his wife's shoulder. He was smiling too but his face was sterner, the lines harder and more defined, showing the years of stress and hard work woven in to his features. That didn't mean that he wasn't genuinely happy too, it just looked like he also had other things on his mind as well. He had short red, ginger hair and a ginger brush of a moustache over his top lip.

Then there was little Jack, looking the age of about six or seven smiling widely on his mother's lap. He was holding one of her hands between both of his, while she had her other hand around his waist keeping him steady on her lap. He was dressed up in a little suit as well, just like his father's, but he was lacking a blazer. He had redder hair than his father's but not as red as it seemed to be now. He also looked genuinely happy like he had just been laughing about something. His eyes were twinkling in excitement and wonder. He looked adorable and the scene looked so enticing.

I realised that the longer I stared at this picture the more I felt envious of the family scene…also more confused. Where were they?

"Rae?" I jumped and ran out of the room and looked to find Kimiko and Clay out in the hall holding the Wu and standing by the Wu I had left on the floor. She saw me and left out a sigh of relief, "There you are! I thought something happened. Why did you just leave the Shen Gong Wu?"

"I thought I'd look for a bag," I explained, "I thought it would be easier to carry the Wu in."

"Oh," she looked at Clay who nodded, "Good idea."

"Didn't you find one in the kitchen?" Clay asked and added, "That's usually where my pappy keeps the trash bags."

"I don't know, I haven't checked yet," I shrugged and moved to pick up all of the Wu on the floor.

We dashed through the house and when we found the kitchen we dumped all of the Shen Gong Wu on the side boards and rummaged through the cupboards.

"Got it!" Kimiko cried and unravelled a bag. She threw the rest of them on the side and open the bag holding it out to Clay and I as we shovelled the Wu in to the bag with our hands.

"That's all of 'em!" Clay declared and took the bag from Kimiko, he was stronger and the Wu – as I said – was rather heavy.

"C'mon let's go!" Kimiko ordered and Clay and I followed her out of the house, back in to the garden, back over the wall and all the way back to Dojo who was waiting patiently for us.

"Hey, good timing kids," he praised us and then asked looking around, "Where's Omi and Rai?"

"On their way!" Kimiko told him hopping up on to his back after he super-sized and then reaching down to help me get on as well.

Moments later we saw Omi and Raimundo sprinting towards us.

"Go!" Raimundo cried as he sprang on to Dojo's back and held out his hand for Omi.

Dojo zoomed in to the sky as Rai pulled Omi up and our mission was complete.

On our way back my mind reminded me of the question I had ignored earlier. I had visited only one room and it was awfully dusty and old and why was the house so dark and empty if it was a family home? Was Jack living alone? How was Jack now?

"Hey," I called back to Raimundo. He looked up at me expectantly, I continued, "What happened to Jack?"

"He'll get over it," Raimundo replied averting his eyes. Then he turned back to me smiled, "Don't worry, Jack has a habit of popping up out of nowhere. If you're concerned about him, don't be. He's tougher than he looks."

* * *

**Jack -** They beat me O~O They beat me hard, Hazzard! How could you let them do that?

**Hazzard - **I'm sorry, Jackie! ***Holds like a baby***

**Jack -** Ow! o~o

**Hazzard - **It's okay. Rae will make it all better, baby

**Jack - **What? o.O How?

**Hazzard - **I don't know? I haven't written anything else yet. I don't even know if that's true yet :p Don't ask questions! Just cry and let me hold you!

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Please ignore any spelling mistakes or grammar errors, they have a habit of eluding me. If they're there but it's clear what is meant, do your best to ignore them. If they are there and it's just awfully irritating, make me aware in a review (copy and paste some - it'll make it easier for me to amend) and I shall improve it for you lovely readers :)**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hm...personal update...um...hello? I guess there is nothing else to say within these two days. It's been rather boring actually ^_^ Haha, couple of lazy days for the half term break. Meh! :)**

**Chapter 7 :)**

**Enjoy~~~~~~~!**

* * *

***~ The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 7 ~***

We all went to sleep as soon as we got back and I was out like a light, I didn't dream at all. When I woke I felt refreshed and ready to go but when I checked the clock I saw that I was actually up an hour late.

I rushed to put on my new clothes provided by Master Fung, which were red and black robes like the other monks, excluding Raimundo who had a fancier uniform than us. Once kited up I dashed out of the dorm and across the grounds to a field at the back of the temple. I spotted them instantly. Omi was jogging around a tree while Kimiko was laying on the grass out in sun unlike Raimundo who sat in the shade beside Clay who was leaning against the tree trunk looking deep in thought.

"Hey!" I cried, catching their attention.

Omi stopped running and Kimiko rolled on to her front and looked over to me.

"Good Morning, Rae," she greeted me with a smile.

I stopped a few feet away, put on my hands on my hips and asked, "You guys left me in bed?"

"Hey, you did well last night," Kimiko explained, "We thought you might want a little longer to rest up."

"But then I'd miss my first class," I pointed out.

"Master Fung wouldn't have been angry or nuttin'" Clay shrugged, "He's a real calm sorta guy."

"Yeah, I gathered but," I sighed and told them, "Thank you for the thought but I came here to understand whatever this thing is. I came here to learn how to control it. I can't do that if I'm asleep."

"Sorry, Rae, we only wanted you to feel okay," Kimiko apologised, "We wanted you to know that we're all in this together. We look out for each other and we thought that you needed more sleep."

"Thank you, I appreciate that," I replied smiling, "So where _is_ Master Fung?"

"On his way," Raimundo told me, "He and Dojo are getting the Shen Gong Wu."

"Are we learning how to use more of them?" I asked.

"_You're_ learning," he pointed out with a smile, "We're practising."

He seemed friendlier today not as cold and upset he was yesterday. Maybe I really _had_ done well last night. The thought made me happy.

* * *

Jack groaned as his thoughts slowly came back to him along with the pain.

"Jack? Jack?" an awful croaky voice rasped through his ears making them ring.

He groaned again and slowly opened his eyes but only slightly. He felt dizzy and there was a throbbing ache on the side of his head, growing more painful the more he woke up. His eyes wandered the room slowly as his blurry vision came in to focus.

Why was he in his lab? Why wasn't he in his room? And why was his head hurting so much?

"Oh thank goodness, Jack!" Jack's eyes finally found Wuya floating to his right, she had one of her pale ghost hands on her head, "I thought you were dead for a moment."

"You were worried?" he asked and dragged his feet up from underneath himself. He crouched and took a moment before standing to steady himself – he was dizzy as well.

Wuya cackled, "Not quite," Jack stood up slowly and then turned to glare at her. She sighed and explained, "Look, no offence but you're the only one willing to team up with me and I'm pretty much at a disadvantage without my own body. But don't worry, I'm not using you. When I take over again you'll get your fair share, I promise."

"Gee, thanks," Jack grumbled rubbing his forehead, trying to work out where the pain was located. He found the source and then remembered what had happened last night. He stopped to really think about it, and then narrowed his eyes at the ground. _They beat me up again…_

"We need to come up with a plan in order to steal back the Wu and this time we'll hide them in a more secure location!" Wuya exclaimed.

"No," Jack walked to the stairs.

"WHAT?" Wuya swooped in front of him just as he placed his foot on the first step. He stared back at her blankly, "Don't tell me you're giving up?"

"No! I just – urgh!" Jack groaned and shouted at the dead woman angrily, "Look, I'm not feeling so good, okay? If you hadn't noticed I've been beaten up pretty badly, by the Xiaolin losers."

"So what? They always beat you up," Wuya pointed, "How is today any different?"

Jack glared at her and hissed, "Exactly," he walked through her, which – like it always did – turned his stomach but he ignored it and marched out of the basement whilst growling back at the moany old cow, "It's never any different. I steal the Wu, the Xiaolin losers beat me up and take it back. No more…no more."

Wuya watched him leave and shut the door behind him. _What the hell was that all about? _She wondered. She looked around at all the knocked over, half-finished robotics on the floor and the messy table scattered with tools. _I guess, I could go collect intel for Chase_, she shrugged to herself and flew out of the house, _That way I can open more doors for partnerships in case the boy really is ready to throw in the towel._

* * *

Meanwhile, Jack was slowly making his way up the grand staircase of his house. He was limping now as he realised there was a particular sting in his right ankle – hopefully it was just sprained. As he got to the top he took a moment to breathe before he continued down the hall all the way to the last room. His room.

He pretty much shoved the door open and shuffled in, slamming it behind him in case Wuya had decided to follow him and badger on about getting the monks back. He wasn't in the mood right now. He felt sick and tired, and actually sick in general, like he had been punched in the stom-_ Oh yeah,_ he remembered, he _had_ been punched in the stomach.

He sighed and slumped down on to his bed. The Jack caught his reflection in the mirror and gasped. He actually had a black eye. He tentatively touched it with his fingertips and hissed at the sting of pain from the contact. Maybe that was the blow that finally took him out. It looked painful enough.

Jack frowned at his reflection who frowned back at him. He then threw himself back on to the bed so he was lying down staring up at the ceiling.

He reviewed the last mission. He had calculated everything and it had all gone to plan. Everything had played out like he thought it would, like he knew it would. All except for that new girl, but she hadn't really made it difficult or anything, she had just been observing from what it looked like. Either way the plan had worked like a charm. Then before he could think of the next thing to do, they had ambushed him, like so many times before, and stolen their weapons back.

Jack racked his hands across his face and groaned loudly, angry with himself.

"I guess, I'll just have to do everything at once," he muttered to himself, "I get the Wu and began straight away. I guess there's no time for rest when the enemy are free to act. Bloody Xiaolin losers!" He dropped his hands stared up at the ceiling, calculating a new plan in his mind and finally nodding, seeing it come together in his mind, "Right."

* * *

**Jack - **I have a plan in motion?

**Hazzard - **_You do indeed_! And it's gonna be so badass!

**Jack - **:D ... :o Will people still know its me?

**Hazzard - **Err, probably not O.O

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello, lovely readers! Thank you to the four who have reviewed so far! So glad you're enjoying it and I'm so grateful that you let me know otherwise I'd be sitting here thinking '...hm...people are reading it according to the view count but how are they feeling?' Haha! So many thanks and cuddles, friends! ^_^**

**So, now here is chapter 8 :D**

**Enjoy~~~~~~~~!**

* * *

***~ The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 8 ~***

It was late and I had been asked to wash up while the others folded and put away the chairs and tables of the hall. I didn't mind cleaning the dishes myself. I could reflect on the lessons of the day while I did so.

I began cleaning whilst thinking of what Master Fung had said about one of the Shen Gong Wu we had used today. This particular Wu did not work how you wanted it to unless you were calm and collected, and you were focusing all of your energy on your main goal. It was called the Tangle Web Comb and it was one of the most infuriating things I had ever tried to learn how to use. But I had begun to calm down and work around the anger as time went on. That and the fact that the shade of tree seemed to shimmer on the ground as my irritation grew.

_You must quiet the storm of your mind only then will you be able to achieve absolute focus_, I remembered Master Fung saying as he helped me to stand up this morning. I had tripped and fallen because I had unintentionally wrapped the Wu's coils of hair around my own ankles and pulled without realising, throwing myself off-balance.

"Absolute focus," I remember repeating and asked, "Will that help with my power?"

"Of course," he had replied, "In order to gain control over this darkness, as you say, you will have to first focus and calm yourself."

So I asked if I could keep using the Tangle Web Comb to help with my focus while the other monks swapped Shen Gong Wu every few sparing matches. While they trained against and with each other, I trained by myself and a wooden dummy. I wasn't all too confident in my own strength at the moment – still nowhere close to jumping over a wall taller than myself. So I felt like I would rather not get beaten the crap out of.

That's when my thoughts travelled back to Jack. I hadn't seen the most part of the fight but I had seen one hit and it looked painful. Raimundo had also not answered my question properly; instead he looked uneasy and told me that the boy would be fine. I sighed and grimaced at my reflection in the dish that I was currently scrubbing. That definitely meant that Spicer had been beaten badly. I shook my head and placed the plate on the sideboard, with the other bits and pieces that were already cleaned and waiting to be dried.

_Hopefully it's not too bad,_ I thought to myself and then shrugged as an afterthought, _He is the bad guy, though_.

Pushing those unwanted thoughts away, I thought about the focus training again. It was only half nine and lights out was around eleven I could either go back to my room when I was finished…or continue practising.

I smiled at the idea and began scrubbing the dishes quicker. "I gonna master this, err, whatever this thing is! I'm gonna _own_ the dark! Yeah!"

By the time I had cleaned, dried and put everything away it was ten to ten. So I took the comb out from my hair, which I had used to tie it up, and half ran out to the field. I wanted to be alone so the quiet could offer more help with the concentration and since it was night-time now, there would be more darkness to work with.

I found the one lonely tree in the middle of the open field and stopped a few feet away. I turned around 360 to check no one was around and then I held out the comb toward the tree. I locked my eyes on the trunk and took a few deep breaths.

_1, 2, 3… _"TANGLE WEB COMB!" I cried.

The teeth of the comb shot out morphing into thick threads of hair and heading straight toward my target but just as I thought I had succeeded, it circled the tree and came shooting back toward me. "Damn," I cursed as the rope like strands wound themselves around me.

_Quiet the storm_, I inwardly reminded myself, as I stayed perfectly still and steadied my breathing patterns. Seconds later the teeth unwound themselves and receded back in to the brush. _Right_, I took my position again, holding the comb to the tree and then a thought occurred to me.

I had watched the others use their elements with some of the Shen Gong Wu and they had unlocked a more powerful attack. Kimiko had used the Star Hanabi and added her element of fire. It was amazing. What if I could do that? I wanted to try it. Only problem was, I didn't know what my element – if it was an element - was. Was it the shadows or the darkness itself? Maybe it didn't matter. Maybe it was just the _feeling_ that was needed; just focus and the act of putting all of your power in to the attack. Maybe…

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. This was going to be something I had never tried before, always too scared to experiment. I had always been scared in case I couldn't switch them off again…but then I never had been able to really switch them off, had I?

I reached inside and opened up the gates just a little and I felt the surge that went through me. Like a shower of relief from discomfort and claustrophobia, like I was finally free or part of me was – a very small part.

I kept control over my breathing, _don't be afraid, you can do this_, I told myself as I felt the shadows dancing around my feet. I almost jumped as I felt their cold touch as they travelled up my legs and through my body in to my arms and finally collecting in my hands which were still holding on to the Wu. _Ssh! Don't scream! It's fine! They're on your side! They're at your command! THEY'RE YOU!_

I took a shaky breath and opened my eyes, ready, "TANGLE WEB COMB!"

Once again the teeth shot out but this time they were as black as coal. They snapped around the tree's bark and, like some sort of virus spreading in front of my eyes, the tree quickly blackened from the comb threads outwards, turning black as my own hair. I gasped. Not only had I used the Wu correctly, I had also combined it with my powers – my power's that I had never experimented with before.

"Amazing," I breathed staring down at my own hands. I could see darks mists surrounding them. I reached inside again and shut the locks like I had before and the mists dispersed, disappearing.

I smiled, "I did it," I whispered and then I whooped and fist pumped the air, "I did it! Yeah!"

That's when I heard the snaps and cracks and as I whipped my head back to the tree, I jumped back seeing as it was now leaning toward me at an unnatural angle.

"What the hell?" I cried and threw my arms in air, "Aw, c'mon! You have to screw up already? I've only just started, for Christ's sake!"

The tree groaned seemingly moving closer. I moved away even further. What the hell was happening? Then it hit me! The darkness. It wasn't the tree moving closer, it was the blackness coating the tree. It was holding on but still trying to move toward its commander. _That has to be it! It just has to! It doesn't make sense any other way!_

With that in mind, I outstretched my hand toward it and – hoping I didn't uproot the tree in the process – opened the power again. I drew the darkness toward me and the tree groaned as the darkness continued to cling to it, yet moving closer to me at the same time.

"Let go!" I growled at the shadow and just like that, the tree sprang up like a spring and the shadow came rushing toward me hitting me with such force that I was knocked off of my feet.

As the tree shook and it's leaves ruffled as it steadied itself, I, too, took a moment to gather my senses again.

But I did smile. What I had achieved tonight was a huge leap forward. I had no idea I was capable of something like that and if this was only the start, what else could I do? I couldn't wait to find out now. Maybe I'll add this in the letter I'm writing to Dad…then again it would most likely frighten him, so maybe I'll just say that things are going better than expected. That should do just as well.

I got up to continue but had I known someone was watching me, I would have gone back to the dormitory instead. But how was I to know?

* * *

**Jack -** Amazing!

**Hazzard - **Yeah :)

**Jack - **Is this the girl?

**Hazzard - **What do you mean?

**Jack - **You know, _the _girl.

**Hazzard - **I have no idea what you're talking about.

**Jack - **But-

**Hazzard - **You're acting like you actually _want _me to cut your tongue out today.

**Jack -** What? No! Why would you do that?

**Hazzard - **Oh, I don't know...IN CASE OF SPOILERS! ***Opens duct tape, evil grin***

**Jack - **Oh no...

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	9. Chapter 9

**Who else wants another chapter tonight? Just me? Okey dokes ;) I wrote it. I uploaded. Why not submit? ^_^**

**Chapter 9, my friends!**

**Enjoy~~~~~~~~~!**

* * *

***~ The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 9 ~***

"Hello?" I called. I didn't know how long I had been here in this huge, dark house. But I couldn't find anyone and I couldn't find a way out either. But there had to be someone here, somewhere, "Hello? Anyone?"

I found myself in the hallway again for maybe the fourth time? Eighth time? I couldn't remember exactly. I turned in a circle and found a doorway I hadn't explored yet but it looked familiar to me. I walked over and pushed the door open.

I ran my hand along the inside of the wall and found a switch. _Click_. The room was illuminated and there were bookcases filled and dusty. I coughed from the amount of dust in the room. I took a few steps in and the door slammed behind me.

I turned and panicked.

"Wait! Who's there? Let me out! Please! I'm sorry for intruding, I just wanna get out!" I shouted as I pounded the door with my fists.

That's when my eyes travelled over to the portrait on the wall.

"Jack?" I questioned.

"Hey, newbie," his voice was loud and clear. I gasped and turned. He was standing right behind me. _Wait, a minute! He wasn't there before!_ His smile turned upwards in an unnatural fashion and his eyes were wide and dilated, "What are you looking for?"

"Um…" I lost my voice in the fear; there was something very wrong with him.

Then he reached out and grabbed me and before my very eyes his face melted. His hair fell out, like his teeth and his skin, his eyes, his nose all just turned in to sludge slowly running from the shape underneath it all. A shadow with a wide terrifying grin, stared back at me now with hollow eyes.

"What's wrong, master?" its voice was not just one, but multiple tones overlapping each other. It giggled like a hyena and the sounds echoed round the room, "Don't you like us?"

I screamed and sat bolt upright.

* * *

"Rae? Calm down, you're okay!" Kimiko comforted me with a hand on my shoulder. I stared back at her catching my breath. What the hell was going on?

"But…" I started, I was so confused.

I was interrupted by Raimundo who was sitting right beside her, "You were dreaming."

I stared at him in disbelief for a few moments and then I looked around. Clay was standing at the end of my cubicle with Omi just peeking round the thin wall, with concern etched on his face. The cowboy sent me a warm smile telling me it was all okay now. I let out a long breath and let my head fall back.

"Urgh, that was horrible," I groaned.

"It sounded it," Kimiko nodded at my side.

"You're telling me," Raimundo added, "She said Jack's name, right?"

"What?" I shot up again, a blush running across my face. I didn't want them getting the wrong idea or anything, "I didn't say anything else, did I?"

"No," Raimundo answered slowly, eyeing me suspiciously. He then leaned in, in curiosity and asked with a smirk, "Why?"

I sighed and just told them the dream, "I was in his house. I couldn't find the exit and then he popped up…and then he melted."

"He melted?" Raimundo repeated, with his eyebrows arched in confusion. I guess he was thinking of something else. I rolled my eyes at the thought.

"Yes, he melted," I continued, "It was disgusting and scary," I stopped talking as I began thinking about the rest of the dream and involuntarily shivered.

"Well, everything will be okay now, my friend Rae," Omi exclaimed as he stepped out in front of me now. I smiled at the little guy, cheerful as he always was, "You are with friends and the nightmares are over!"

"Thanks, Omi," I sighed with a small lop-sided smile, "What's the time?"

"Err, five?" Kimiko guessed and turned to Raimundo for confirmation.

"Yeah, around that sort of time," he nodded and turned to look out the window, "The sun isn't quite up yet but it's not dark out. Who's up for an early start?"

"That's not like you," Kimiko poked him giggling.

"What do you mean?" he asked her.

"Don't you remember when we started?" she then proceeded to mimic him, "'Who gets up at this time in the morning?' 'How do you expect me to be able to do anything, if I'm still half asleep?' 'You guys go ahead, I'm just gonna clean up my things' which was always code for, try and get back to sleep."

The boy smiled at her and shrugged, "Okay, so I may have been a little lazy in the past. People change, Kim."

"Raimundo, didn't you use the Shroud of Shadows to hide the plates a few weeks ago just to get out of doing the chores?" Omi pointed out.

"You tried to do that again?" Kimiko asked astounded.

Raimundo just laughed, "Just trying to keep Master Fung on his toes. He saw through it, no worries," Raimundo then grumbled to himself, "Damn, old man sees through everything."

Kimiko glared at him half-heartedly and he just smiled and winked at her. She sighed and smiled back, "You're hopeless."

"C'mon, let's go. I'm wide awake," he said getting up and stretching.

I nodded agreeing with this notion, "Yeah, I'm not too keen on going back to sleep myself," then I remember the progress I had made last night. I had returned when everyone else was already asleep, "Oh yeah! I wanna show you guys something I was practising last night! By the way, you may wanna be weary of the tree in the field. I nearly pull it up."

"You nearly what now?" the others asked in surprise.

I couldn't wait to show them!

* * *

"Okay, I think…I'm ready," Jack announced as he finished putting concealer and white powder on. He had done his best to hide the black eye and had made a brilliant job of it, actually. You could barely see it. If you didn't know it was there you'd overlook the slight discolouring altogether.

He looked at himself in the long mirror; he looked like he usually did. No black eyes or sprained ankles. He had yet again hidden the marks that they left on him and he had spent all day yesterday thinking of his next moves. He was confident this time but nervous too.

"All I have to do is go in, get the Wu and get to work," he reminded himself, "It'll all be fine. I can do this! I can finally…_finally_ do this."

He nodded to himself in the reflection and tried to smile but stopped. When he smiled so did his eyes and one of them wasn't in top shape right now. So the muscles moving around his face caused the sore flesh to sting.

_I can't even fucking smile! _He cursed inwardly. Those Xiaolin losers would pay. They always beat him up even though it was always four against one. They were probably brainwashing newbie into their way of thinking and now it would probably be five against one. The odds were never in his favour. Well not anymore.

This time he had thought of everything and this time he had thought of everything to come after the mission as well. This time he wouldn't fail! He knew it!

* * *

**Jack - *Mumbling behind duct tape***

**Hazzard - **Yes, badass Jack is back in the game.

**Jack - *Mumbling***

**Hazzard - **Hm...maybe, maybe not.

**Jack - *Mumbling eagerly***

**Hazzard - **You'll just have to wait and find out ;)

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	10. Chapter 10

**After my volunteering job yesterday (Saturday) I got my best friend and boyfriend to watch Xiaolin Showdown with me because they used to watch it when they were younger. I just suggested (more than subtly) that we should watch all the series again and then start watching Chronicles together as well and they were just like 'Yeah, sure' :D Woop! Woop!  
I think the obsession is back...Xiaolin Showdown theme is also my ringtone now as well -w-"**

**Anyways, Chapter 10, my lovelies!**

**Enjoy~~~~~~~~~~!**

* * *

***~ The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 10 ~***

"And you're sure you've never done anything like this before? You've never tried?" Master Fung asked staring at the blackened tree with narrowed eyes.

I had shown them all exactly what I had done last night. They had all gasped and then cheered and a surge of happiness washed through me. I felt proud of something that I'd never ever been proud of before. But Master Fung seemed more concerned than excited.

I shook my head, "No, my father likes to think I'm normal. That this sort of thing," I gestured to the tree, "doesn't exist."

"Hm," he was staring intently at the tree in thought. After what seemed like an eternity of silence he turned to me and asked, "What else did you achieve last night?"

"Um, only calling back the shadows," I replied and lifted my hand toward the tree.

I didn't have to voice my commands this time. The shadow let got and came slithering back to me across the grass of the field. It wasn't too fast either. I had trained on controlling the speed of the things last night as well. I was amazed at what I could do, but again Master Fung looked more concerned.

"Master Fung, is something wrong?" Kimiko asked.

"Yeah," Clay added, "You always encouraged us to use our elements."

"No, that is not what worries me, young ones," he said turning back to the others. He then smiled at them and then at me, "I am truly amazed at this ability, Rae, but it surprises me how you could achieve this much control in one night without any help or supervision, or guidance."

"But I did have help and guidance!" I pointed out, "In the lesson yesterday you told me how to use this," I held up the Tangle Web Comb, "You told me that I needed to think straight have complete focus. So I kept that in mind. You also told me that that would help with my own power. I finished the cleaning so I decided to practise and look what I can do!"

"Yes, well done, child, but this still doesn't calm my concerns," Master Fung paused and then told me, "You are not the only one who has had this power. There have been many before you."

My eyes widened. Others? I gasped and asked eagerly, "Others? Can I meet them? I have so many questions to ask."

"No, Rae, they're all long passed now," he told me gently. My hopes deflated and I felt so disappointed. He continued, "None of them have ever lived in the same era which gives way to the suggestion that you are all reincarnated from one another. There will be no others while you live out your days."

"Oh," I replied sadly. It would have been nice to have someone to talk to, someone who understands.

Master Fung continued, "My point is there have been many before you and none of them had it easy. All struggled at the beginning. All but one."

"One?" I repeated and asked curiously, "Who?"

"Her name was Chandra," Master Fung began explaining, "She was a very confident and powerful young woman. But never alone, she was afraid of isolation and loneliness. Chandra had a close companion who followed her wherever she went, he went by the name of Heru and he also possessed power similar to hers. You have heard the saying opposites attract?"

"Yes," I nodded, trying to understand.

"What is the opposite to darkness?" Master Fung asked me.

"Light," I answered still confused.

So he went on, "Heru could manipulate light just as Chandra could manipulate darkness. Now here is the main point I am getting at. The reason why Chandra feared loneliness so much was not for being alone…it was for being weak. She was very much used to using her powers enough to keep them in check and fight but she was only ever brilliant when she was with her counterpart and the same went for him too."

"You mean that Chandra could only use her darkness with Heru?" I asked trying to comprehend.

Master Fung shook his head and corrected me, "No, she could use her powers just fine, but she was only at her best with him present. Do you understand why I am telling you this?"

I stood there feeling like an idiot because I just couldn't get my head around what he was trying to explain to me. Then Raimundo piped up finally seeing the point and explaining to us all, "Rae is the Chandra of today and all this sudden control means that the Heru of today is nearby."

My eyes widened and I stared back at him then looked to Master Fung asking with my eyes. He nodded, "Well done, Raimundo."

"But…" I said and turned to look over to the forest next to the field. I couldn't see anything but maybe…

"Yes, I wonder too," Master Fung replied to my unasked question.

A few silent moments passed and then a figure sprang up from behind some of the greenery and just as quickly as they appeared they ran off. Without even thinking I took off after them.

"Rae!" Kimiko and Clay cried.

* * *

They all stared in to the deep forest that they rarely ventured in to and moments passed before there was movement. Someone was now running away from their watchful eyes…and Rae was suddenly running after them.

"Rae!" Kimiko and Clay cried. Raimundo had no time to act so he just ran after her as well. He was the leader after all; he had to look after his team.

Kimiko called after him, "Rai, where are you going?"

"I'll make sure she's alright," he called back over his shoulder, "We'll be back soon!"

"Oh, but…" Kimiko trailed off and then turned to the other boys and asked, "Shall we follow them as well?"

Suddenly an alarm sounded and Omi cried out in surprise, "The Vault!" and ran off to defend the temple grounds and the Shen Gong Wu.

Clay turned to Kimiko and said with a gentle, understanding tone, "C'mon, Kim, Raimundo'll be fine. Besides, they need us here, right now."

Kimiko took one look at the forest where two of her teammates had disappeared in to and then sighed. She then nodded to Clay, he was right after all and the pair of them dashed after Omi to help with defending the Wu.

When they all arrived at the vault none of them expected who their visitor was. It was a few days too soon for him to try again.

"Jack!" Kimiko exclaimed incredulously, "You're trying again? Don't you remember what happened the other day?"

"So I miscalculated?" he shrugged looking like he wasn't in least bit bothered and then smirked at them, "I won't be making that mistake again."

"No, you'll be making some other silly mistake instead," Clay replied.

"Face it, Jack, you can't win this on the Heylin side," Kimiko told him harshly.

Jack laughed, "Is that another comment for me to join you guys again? Sorry but the Xiaolin is not my cup of tea and I'm afraid, this time, you're wrong. I've already won this fight."

"Oh really?" Omi asked, "Then how come we're about to kick your behind?"

"Hm…" Jack mimed thinking about it then smirked and thrust a Shen Gong Wu forward and before the monks could register what it was the boy shouted out, "SILK SPITTER!"

Thick white threads shot out of the Wu and tangled around the three monks tying them together in a tightly spun web.

"What was that about kicking my behind, Omi?" Jack asked and then laughed triumphantly.

"You won't get away with this, Jack," Kimiko warned him.

"And what are you gonna do to stop me, Kimi?" Jack asked coming right up to her face.

"Raimundo and Rae will be back soon and they'll stop you," she growled at him in anger.

He just smiled at her, "Ah, the newbie. Well, she's not so bad unless you've lured her in with all your good and bad mumbo jumbo and as for Raimundo, I'm pretty sure I can deal with him one on one," he cackled again and then pressed some buttons on his wrist device which controlled the Jackbots, "Now, let's get you guys in a more secure place where you won't be able to escape or be freed easily."

As the Jackbots flew down from outside and picked up the three monks still tied rather tightly together, Kimiko rolled her eyes and asked, "You're just taking us to your house, aren't you?"

Jack frowned, "No!" he then turned to one of his Jackbots and whispered, "Blindfold them."

* * *

**Jack - **Thank you for finally taking the tape off, I was beginning to find it hard to breathe

**Hazzard - **Ah, no worries. I didn't want you to suffocate before the end of the story

**Jack - **Before the end? What about after?

**Hazzard - *Turns to readers, ignoring that last question* **If you have any question or any thoughts you wanna share, just let me know in a review ;D Hopefully I wrote this correctly so that its not too confusing :)

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**


	11. Chapter 11

**I tried not to make this chapter as melodramatic as I could but I'm not sure if I succeeded - I'll let you guys be the judge of that ;) To be honest, I can be very over the top in real life and only later after I've calmed down do I realise how ridiculous I was being but, then again, not everyone is like that. So if you feel like this chapter was a little..unrealistic let me know in a review (and I apologise) but if not then awesome! ^_^**

**Enjoy~~~~~~~~~~~!**

* * *

***~ The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 11 ~***

I don't know how long I had been running but I continued anyway, not even really knowing where I was going anymore. I was completely lost by this point only going where my feet carried me. I couldn't see or hear the other person anymore only the one behind me, following me.

"Rae! C'mon, this is ridiculous!" Raimundo shouted in somewhat anger.

I had completely ignored all of his commands and orders to stop and go back to the temple with him. But how could I not follow after what I had learned? This person could be the key to my power! I _had_ to follow! I _had_ to find them! I turned, feeling the need to change direction. There was a sense of presence around so they _had_ to be near! They _had_ to! I felt stronger than usual! They _had_ to be here! Completely lost in my personal mission to find my counterpart I failed to notice the other being edging closer to me.

Then someone caught my wrist! I screamed and swung my other fist back. I froze as I realized it was Raimundo and he easily caught my punch in his free hand whilst still keeping a firm grip on my wrist. I tried to gain control over my heavy, ragged breathing from all the running. I looked around, my eyes darting from place to place, a sense of panic rushing through my system as I felt the presence growing fainter and fainter.

I struggled, "Quickly! He's leaving! Raimundo, he's getting away!" I noted that I was shivering but not because of the cold – it wasn't all that cold, to be honest – I was afraid, "I just – I need to – stop – Raimundo, please!"

"Rae! Rae, listen to me! Listen! Who's _he_?" he asked, "Do you mean Heru?"

"Let go!" I struggled…and then I couldn't feel him anymore. I stopped struggling, a cold empty feeling taking hold, "He's gone…" I breathed staring at the ground with wide eyes. He had escaped. My counterpart, my key, my control…gone.

I felt tears prick the corners of my eyes so I pulled my wrist and hand out of my leaders now loosened grip and turned away from him. I brushed the back of my hand over my eyes to get rid of the tears before they fell and gasped when I saw the black smudges. Damn make-up again!

"How do you know it's him?" Raimundo asked me putting a hand on my shoulder.

I tensed and turned my head slightly more in the other direction. I croaked a small response, not realizing how much it would reveal the fact that I was crying, "I just…I feel his energy. If…if what Master Fung said was true…then it has to be him…it _has_ to be."

He sighed and the noise sounded something like frustration. There was a pause before he said, "Come here, Rae."

I sighed; there was really no point in trying to hide something when he already knew the truth. I turned to him and looked up, exposing my tear stricken face, expecting to see an angry expression because I hadn't listened to anything he had said in the past ten minutes. I had dragged us so far in to this dense woodland area, far away from friends. He had every right to be angry. But instead I was rather surprised to be met with a softer expression, a kinder expression. I didn't see it for very long though as he pulled me in to a hug, pulling my face in to his shoulder.

Again surprised I didn't know whether to hug him back or not, but he didn't seem to be bothered at all as he just told me, "I get why you're upset – kind of. You wanted to talk to him, right?" I nodded in to his shoulder and he continued, "Well, that's understandable but it's stupid just to run off like that. You don't know him, Rae – not in this life," he paused and gently pushed me away to look at me. He continued, "The fact that he was so close…well that means he knows about you and it also means that he would most likely wants to meet you too. But the fact that he ran away, well to me that says he's not ready yet. You understand?"

I just nodded; I didn't know what to say.

"C'mon," he held his hand out to me. I looked at it contemplating, and then looked away in to the forest one last time. No, I couldn't feel anything. He was well and truly gone by now. I sighed and turned back to Raimundo. Taking his hand he gave me a smile and as we started walking back to the temple he changed the topic and said, "Well done the other day at Spicer's, by the way, and for the shadow stuff. It's really cool."

"Oh, thanks," I mumbled, and wiped my nose on my sleeve _– what? I didn't have a tissue!_

"I could tell you tried," he told me. I looked at him quizzically and he replied with a knowing smile, "Mind reader conch."

I made an O shape with my mouth as I realised and then nodded. I sniffled and asked, "How bad are the smudges around my eyes?"

He smirked and asked, "You want the truth or a nice compliment instead?"

I smiled and shrugged, "Both, I guess."

"You look like a panda," he snickered and then added, "But the cutest panda I've ever seen and believe me I know a guy called Pandabubba." I narrowed my eyes at him – _what kind of a name is that?_ "Seriously, I know."

I laughed a little and then sighed feeling a little better, "I'm sorry I ran off and I'm sorry for crying. That was actually kind of pathetic."

"No, it wasn't," he replied shaking his head and looking the other way. He went on to explain, "Listen, Rae, you said you came here to control your element, right?"

"Well it's not exactly an element though," I corrected him.

He continued anyway, "Well, suddenly this person shows up and you have a grip of what it takes to hold that power over yourself, of course you're going to be upset when they decide to run away," he let go of my hand and jumped high and a breeze from nowhere elevated him on to a tree branch. He smiled down at me, clearly proud of the expression on my face as I gazed up at him in awe, "If I had instant control over my element, I would feel exactly the same if it was taken away again. You're not pathetic."

I stared him for a while repeating it in my mind, _I'm not pathetic. I'm not pathetic. _Then I smiled brightly up at him, "Thanks, Raimundo. You're pretty cool."

"Well, someone has to be around here and believe me, as much as he'd like to be, it isn't gonna be Omi," he smirked and then began jumping from tree branch to tree branch, "I'll race you!" he called back to me over his shoulder. I smiled and began running, following him after him.

I didn't think I would win this race as I still didn't know where we were but it was at least fun to try.

* * *

**Jack - **Where the hell have you been?

**Hazzard - **Working :)

**Jack - **But you left me! I haven't eaten in almost a week!

**Hazzard - *Holds up a bowl of Cinnamon cereal* **Open up!

**Jack - **I'm not sure I like that cereal...

**Hazzard - **HOW DARE YOU CURSE THE BOWL OF HEAVENLY SWEET STUFF THAT I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF! EAT, I SAY! EAT!

**Jack -** O_O What?

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay, so I was writing this chapter and BOOM! Mega plotlines just crashed in to my mind so get ready for some confusing yet dramatic instalments to this story, my friends ;) The storyline just got a lot more complicated and adventure-packed! Woo!**

**Also thanks to xxx-benedictbrothersfan-xxx for the review. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story enough to let me know ;) I really appreciate that.**

**Enjoy~~~~~~~~~~~~!**

* * *

***~The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 12 ~***

Raimundo used his element to leap from the last tree, fly across fifteen feet of the open field and land gracefully on the grass as I came up behind, laughing and wheezing at the same time.

He smiled at me and placed his hands on his hips, "I think that means I win and your loser prise is my chores for the rest of the week."

"Hey, that's no fair! I didn't agree to that!" I cried punching his arm half-heartedly, "I didn't even know the way for the most part! I was following you."

"Okay, okay," he chuckled and then added, "Just for today then?"

I laughed at the cheek of it all, "I hope you're joking."

"Shall we settle this with a race back to the temple itself?" Raimundo asked.

I didn't give him an answer, instead I dashed forward. Head start!

"Hey!" he cried out behind me and I heard his feet start pounding the ground in pursuit as our laughter filled the air.

_Quick! Quick! Quick! Stay in the lead! Stay in the lead!_ Then he came rushing to my side. He winked at me and sped ahead.

_How the hell is he that fast?_ Then I felt the chill in the air and realisation washed over me. _He's using his element! Well, two can play at that game!_

I smirked as I fixed my sight on his shadow and I held my breath trying hard to push the shadow forward. After a strained few seconds the shadow slid ahead of its castor, twister upward and solidified just long enough to catch his foot and sending him crashing to the ground.

He fell with a yelp of surprise as I dashed past with my head thrown back, laughing. I looked back over my shoulder and saw him smiling, so he clearly knew that it was my doing. I watched as he looked at me and grinned whilst shaking his head. It was the kind of look that says 'You're in for it now' and the thought sent a chill down my spine.

I looked back ahead and tried to push my legs to move faster, knowing that he was going to be using his element full force now.

_Almost there!_ Three feet away from the threshold of the temple grounds pathway and suddenly I was being lifted in to the air.

I cried out in surprise. I had been thrown in to the air. As I rolled about mid-air I tried to gather my bearings but while you're weightless and rapidly turning, that's rather a hard thing to do. Only after I fell and landed in Raimundo's arms did I finally realise what had happened.

"That's so not fair!" I yelled as he smiled at me.

"Hey, I was going easy on you but you decided to play rough," he pointed out, putting me back on my feet.

I crossed my arms and frowned at him, "That's still not fair. Your element is stronger than mine."

"Only cause I've trained longer," he shrugged and then nudged me with his shoulder, "C'mon, let's go find the others.

I rolled my eyes and then smiled again, "Okay, fine."

As we walked back to the dorm we didn't see any of the older monks walking around or mediating in their usual spots. It was like it had been deserted while we had been gone. We shared a puzzled look and then quickened our pace. We rushed in to the dormitory room we all shared.

"They're not here!" I cried.

"Yeah, I can see that," he grumbled quickly becoming confused, but trying to remain calm – I was failing.

"What happened? Where is everyone?" I asked.

"I don't know, Rae," he snapped back at me.

I shut up as he was clearly running through every scenario in his mind. He sighed and it came out like a quiet growl. Clearly he had no idea what was going on. He took my wrist and pulled me with him out of the dorm.

"C'mon, the main hall," he said whilst leading me in that direction.

Then suddenly I was being shoved up against a wall.

"Hey, what are you do-!" I cried but Raimundo cut me off by covering my mouth with one of his hands. He put the index finger of his free hand to his lips and made the universal signal to be quiet.

He then peered around the corner and so I did too and there were some of the goth boy's robots flying around.

"Aren't they-?" I began but was cut off again, "Ah-!"

"Ssh!" he pulled me back round the corner and then down to the ground behind the shrubbery to left. He looked around and then turned to me whispering, "Yeah, Jack's here."

"Well…how are we gonna get to the hall?" I asked him.

"You stay here," he told me and then added, "Don't move and don't make a sound."

"But-"

"Can you jump a wall yet?" he asked, "Can you shimmy up the gutters and on to the roofs?"

"Ah…no," I replied, I hadn't even tried the second one yet.

"Well then, stay put," he commanded and then began to climb up the drain pipe on the side of the temple I was hiding beside, amongst the shrubbery.

I watched him go all the way and then disappear on to the roof.

So I just sat there waiting, hidden and watching as the robots flew around not seeing me in my hiding place. I needed to train real hard after all this was over because I was clearly not strong enough to be of any help to anyone. I was quite obviously useless right now, more of a burden than aid. That was why I was here right now, in case I got in to trouble or if I got us both in to trouble. But to sit and wait when I could be doing at least something…it was rather frustrating.

I fiddled with my hair as I waited for Raimundo to return and as I started to braid it I noticed a rather large tangle. I sighed, my hair must have become a little matted from all the running and getting thrown about. I pulled out the Tangle Web Comb – it may have been a Shen Gong Wu but it was still a comb nevertheless. I shook my hair out of the braid again and began brushing out the mess from my hair. I continued to watch the robots flying around as I did this.

Then two rounded a corner leaving one by its lonesome self and then longer I stared at it the slower my movements became.

_What if I just_…I looked down at the comb in my hands and then up at the robot facing the other direction just a few feet away. I stood up clearly in the open now and raised the Shen Gong Wu at it.

"Hey!" it turned to identify where the sound was coming from and when it saw me it instantly came toward me, "TANGLE WEB COMB! DARKNESS!"

The dark threads of the comb shot out towards the robot and wound around it. The teeth then let go receding back in to the handle and but the shadow surrounded the robots entirety taking control of it.

The other two robots came back clearly hearing the commotion. I used my mind to fly the shadow robot in to one of them and then used the Tangle Web Comb to grab hold of the other and swing it in to the side of the temple building.

_I did it!_ But now more were coming, clearly having been alerted somehow about an intruder or an attacker – me. I tried my best, shooting shadows here and there, throwing robots around and colliding them with one another but in the end, I was surrounded and the Wu was taken from my hands.

One of the bots shot a rope with two balls on either end toward me and when it hit me the balls wrapped the coils around my arms and torso rendering me useless, yet again. I struggled but the bonds of the rope were too thick and tight to break or budge. I was stuck, I was caught.

One of the bots grabbed hold of the ropes and lifted me in to the air flying me to who knows where; I could only look down watch the temple fall away from me. Where were they taking me? Wherever it was I was sure to find the others there too…hopefully…

* * *

"So her real name is Rachel Wood and she's lived with her father in London for ten years after her mother left when she was nine. She's had constant lapses of power now throughout her life and her father doesn't like this sort of thing. He's rather afraid, believes that it was the reason his wife left them, am I right? Rachel couldn't ignore her power, of course, and got in to some trouble when she was younger but now seeks help after she found out about the Xiaolin Temple," Chase recited as he paced about. He then turned to the figure in the shadows and asked, "Well done, but I'm curious as to how you acquired all of this information?"

"I am one of the Oracles of Time, Chase, I know everything," the hidden figure giggled and then added, "More or less. I am not god after all."

"You seem to know more than you should," Chase muttered then folded his arms and turned to glare at the figure, "But yet you didn't know where to find her, you still don't know where to find the other one and now you don't know if the plan will work after all. Why is it that you don't know the answers to the questions that matter the most?"

"But do they matter the most?" the figure asked shrugging nonchalantly, "I apologise that I cannot offer you more than I already have, dear Chase, but every era changes. The Siblings of Sight bare new challenges every time they come to be. I cannot envision their future, only remember their past and guide them to what they were created and born to become. I can only help them find their balance. That was what _I_ was created for."

"Woman, you speak nonsense to me," Chase growled and turned to continue pacing.

"It's nonsense to you because you did not yet understand," she purred from her darkened place in the room. She then added as an afterthought, "If you truly wish to peek in to the future you will need to gather the other Oracles as well. We may only travel through time together. But that is only if you are desperate."

Chase turned to narrow his eyes at her challenging grin and then asked curiously, "Where would I find them?"

"You might find the Sun in India and you may find the Spirit in Scotland," she then giggled and said, "But I cannot be sure. My sisters are ever so sneaky. Constantly hiding from me in each life we share. But I believe you'll find them…eventually."

The dark lord of evil sighed deeply, _why did she have to complicate and riddle her speech so much? Couldn't she just tell me where they were and be done with it, goddammit! _Chase sat down on his throne and while he thought about his next move, he absent-mindedly stroked the fur of the cat to his left.

"Fine," he finally said, "I will bring back the Sun and the Spirit. Can I trust you not to leave?"

"The Moon is alive and with the earth again," the oracle sat down on the ground with her palms spread out on the floor in front of her. She smiled up at him, "The Moon is happy to stay wherever she is needed."

* * *

**Jack - **Oracles of time? The Sun, the Moon, Spirit? What is this? What is Chase up to?

**Hazzard - **And what are you up to, Jack?

**Jack - **Well that's obvious! World domination is always my game! You know that!

**Hazzard - **Everybody knows that! But how are you to do that in this story?

**Jack - **Well, it says here in your notes that I -

**Hazzard - *****Slaps with a rolled up news paper* **SHUT UP! DON'T GIVE AWAY THE STORY LINE! GODDAMMIT, JACK!

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, so on Monday me and my two best buddies went to the biggest shopping centre nearest to us and applied to get some jobs and whatnot. After that on the way home, we were talking about things and this story got brought up. I was asked what the characters looked like, so we went to mine and I showed them all the pictures I've drawn so far for the characters of the story. Now, my best friend will be reading this too haha :) But he only wants to read it when its finished x') Guess he doesn't like waiting for updates (I'm a bit like that as well to be honest - but that also makes me a hypocrite, whoops!)**

**Also thank you to xxx-benedictbrothersfan-xxx, Sharksrule99 and engineercross for the lovely reviews of the last chapter ^_^**

**Enjoy~~~~~~~~~~~~~!**

* * *

***~The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 13 ~***

The robot had brought me to the Spicer household. It had flown in through a wide side entrance on the third floor of the house and taken me in to a plain and simple room. It was mostly empty with just an old-looking green couch set against the back wall and a book. There were no windows – not even a light bulb – just a small dim lamp sat in the corner of the room.

Just as I was beginning to wonder how I would even imagine reading the book with my hands bound to my sides, the ropes were cut off and I was released. But before I could run down the corridor and out of the house to freedom, the robot shoved me in to the room and locked the door behind me.

Even though I had heard the click, I tried to reopen the door anyway and when I failed I sighed and turned in to the room. My eyes trailed back to the book again and I crossed the room to the couch. It looked really old and like it hadn't been used in years and when I bent down to pick the book up I realised how old and frayed it was too. I opened it on a random yellow page and looked to the top.

"Oh!" I said recognising the title of the book. It was 'Oliver Twist'.

I plopped down in to the seat to start reading – _hey, what else was I supposed to do? I was locked up, for goodness sake_ – and as I made contact with the cushions, a cloud of dust leapt in to the air. Surprised, I accidentally inhaled and had to quickly scramble away from the dirty air, coughing and retching from all the decay now flying around the room and in my lungs.

On all fours and breathing in a rather odd laboured way, I couldn't imagine how flattering the image of me must have been to Jack who had just entered the room.

"Err…are you okay?" he asked confused.

I looked over to him trying to slow and control my breathing again, "Don't you ever…clean the house?"

"What do you mean?" he asked looking around the little room, "The room's fine."

"You should dust…every now and then…" I wheezed and coughed again, "That couch is full of it! Not to mention the room downstairs!"

"Downstairs? When were you downstairs?" he asked still confused, "My Jackbot told me that you just got here."

"Jackbot?" I repeated, "You call them Jackbots? After yourself?"

"Well _I_ made them, why not?" he shrugged and then smirked at me, "Pretty cool, huh?"

"You realise they're faulty and not that great at what you seem to have designed them for, right?" I commented, finally catching my breathing and bringing myself up to standing.

"Could you do any better?" he challenged.

I rolled my eyes at him, "That's not the point."

He stared at me for a moment not saying anything. I felt uncomfortable under his gaze, _why is he staring?_ Then he walked toward me and seemed to lean in to my face.

I leaned away, feeling a little on the edge, "What are you doing?"

"You look like you've been crying," he said bluntly and went on to explain his evidence, "You're eye shadow and your eyeliner are all smudged."

"You'd clearly know about eyeliner," I commented poking his cheek where the black line descended.

"Whatever, it's my style, newbie," Jack shrugged turning and walking back over to the door.

"My name is Rae," I told him crossing my arms over my chest, "Do you hear me calling you bad guy? No. I call you Jack, or Spicer."

"Would you call me an evil genius?" he asked his eyes looking a little too hopeful.

"Err…not really," I shook my head.

"Well, fine. Jack'll do," he sighed as if tired and leaned against the wall, "So…Rae…where's Raimundo?"

"What makes you think I know?" I retorted, trying not to give anything away with my facial expressions.

Jack rolled his eyes and walked toward me again while shaking his head in a saddened way, "Rae, Rae, Rae. You clearly underestimate my genius. Of course I know that you two ran off together while I attacked the temple, the only thing that I don't know is why," he circled me and then stopped at my side and leaned in asking bluntly again, "Are you guys a thing?"

"A what?" I asked, _he couldn't possibly mean-_

"You know – dating," he explained, "Are you guys going out?"

"No!" I cried, shocked and then barked out a laugh, "I've known the guy almost five days, I'm not going to date him anytime soon, Jack. Don't be ridiculous."

"But you like him?" he asked.

I stared at him for a moment and ignored the question, "Why are you so interested? What does this have to do with your evil scheme?" I rolled my eyes and added, "If you're planning on using me as bait to blackmail him through 'love' you'll have to find someone else because as I said – there's nothing going on."

"I see," Jack muttered, again walking back to the door. He turned his head to smile at me, "Okay, fine," he decided to change the subject obviously wanting to find out more about me, "So, what's your game then? What's your thing?"

"My thing?" I repeated and asked, "Care to elaborate?"

"Well, why are you with the Xiaolin dorks?" Jack shrugged, "What's your element?"

"Those _dorks_ are my friends, Spicer," I snapped with narrowed eyes. I didn't like the way he was referring to them.

He shrugged and just replied, "Yeah? Well, they're not mine," he turned to the door, probably deciding to leave before any sort of argument between me defending the other monks and him defending himself could even become a possibility. As he left all he said, without emotion, was, "Look, I don't know you, Rae, but I've not yet been given a reason to hate on you. The others? Well, you saw what they did to me the other night. You really think I'd refer to them nicely?"

With that he left and I was standing there…thinking how right he was. I mean there was no denying. Raimundo had obviously avoided answering my question that night and I'd thought about this a few times already. While three of us were getting the Shen Gong Wu back, two of us were beating the crap out of Jack and his bots to keep him busy.

_But he's evil, Rae, he didn't have to take the Wu but he did. It's his own fault! _I told myself but I wasn't so sure that he deserved that. He looked pretty annoyed when he said about it just then – he was probably hurt or embarrassed by it.

I sighed and walked over to pick the book up again from the floor. Instead of sitting on that mangy old couch again, I went over to the lamp and sat down on the floor beside it. The light would be better here anyway.

* * *

"Do you think that they have realised that we are missing yet?" Omi asked Kimiko, who was in a different cell across the room. He would have gripped the bars but there was an electric current running through them at the moment.

"They will soon, Omi," Kimiko reassured him while she continued to tapped away on her PDA. But she was getting more and more frustrated by the minute. Then she groaned loudly in anger and threw the PDA at her feet.

"You erased the virus, didn't you?" Clay asked from his own cell beside Omi's.

"Of course I did," Kimiko threw her hands in the air, "But I was checking my inbox hoping Rai had sent me another one as some sort of joke. But I can't get a signal, so I can't retrieve any emails, at the moment."

"And you won't be retrieving them anytime soon either," all eyes shot to the red head now entering. He walked past all of them to the end of the room where a table was against the wall with a computer on it. He sat down and logged on.

"And why's that?" Kimiko asked folding her arms and glaring in to the back of his head.

"Guess. You're pretty good with electronics, Kimiko," Jack replied in a monotone voice without turning to look at her.

She glared at him while she thought about it and then asked, "Some sort of transmission blocking any sort of contact in and out of this particular room?"

"Ding! Ding! Ding!" he sang in a dull, bored tone.

After a few moments of silence and Omi's failing to try see over Jack's shoulder to find out what he was searching, the little monk asked, "What are you doing?"

"Like that's any of your business, Chrome dome," Jack snapped, again without looking back at him but after another few quiet moments of his tapping fingers he groaned and swiveled round on his chair to face them now. He crossed his arms, leaning back and brought his left leg up to rest on the right loosely, "The new monk. What's her element?"

"She does not have one," Omi told him.

"Don't give me that! I'm not stupid, Omi!" Jack cried and stood up to walk over to his cell.

"He's telling you the truth there, partner," Clay pointed out before Jack could say anything more.

The goth searched all of their faces and then turned to Clay and asked, "Then why is she with you guys?"

"She ran away from home," Kimiko said and shrugged when he looked at her, "Like we were gonna turn her away. We wouldn't be very good Xiaolin dragons now would we?"

"Well, I don't think adoption is the contract for that sort of thing but if it helps you sleep at night then do what you want," Jack shrugged as well and then sighed. He walked back over to his computer and asked, "What's her surname?"

"Um, why?" Omi asked confused.

"He's trying to research about her," Kimiko told her teammate and then turned to Jack, "Really, that's all we know about her."

"Uh, huh. I completely believe you," Jack replied sarcastically and then added, "Anyway, even if you didn't actually know anything more, I could still find her Facebook and twitter and other social media. Kids are all over the internet nowadays. What's her surname?"

Kimiko laughed, "You talk as if you're not a kid yourself."

"I'm twenty-one, Kim," he said turning to glare at her.

"Yeah, and I'm eighteen," she pointed out, "Rae's nineteen. We're all still rather young, y'know."

Jack turned away to continue tapping while grumbling, "You guys are still teenagers, I'm not. What's her surname?"

"You think you're an adult just because of a number?" Kimiko laughed again, she was just trying to annoy him by now – and it was working.

"Isn't that how everyone defines aging?" Jack growled in anger, "Now what is her surname?"

"And behaviour," Kimiko replied and asked, "But you still haven't grown out of the 'Rule the world' phase yet."

"It's not a phase!" he shouted and she laughed. Not bothering to turn the machine off properly he turned all the switches off at the sockets and marched down the aisle of the cells to exit the room.

"See you later, Jackie!" Kimiko called.

"Fuck you, Kimiko!" he screamed and slammed the door behind him.

"Why did you do that?" Clay asked his friend.

"To get him to stop asking question and to get him to leave," Kimiko explained. Her teammates shared an uncertain looked, "It worked, didn't it?"

"Kim, we're hostages and you just made him angry," Clay told her trying to make her understand what she couldn't see yet.

"I think that you did very well in the angering of Jack but I, myself, would not have made him leave the same way. I would have done something else to make him leave. Maybe…flood the room!" Omi announced, like it was a great idea.

"Err, Omi, you'd kill us all if you did that," Clay reminded the little monk by pointing to the bars.

"Ah, yes. Jack has been doing much thinking and planning," Omi muttered to himself staring at the charged, humming bars, trying to think of something else.

"Okay, so I may have put us in to a particularly bad position by making him annoyed but I've bought the other's some time, haven't I?" Kimiko asked and she stared at Clay with a slightly hopeful expression.

He nodded, "Let's hope so."

* * *

**Jack - **Where's Wuya disappeared to?

**Wuya - **I'm stuck a fish bowl -_-

**Jack -** I meant in the story :p

**Hazzard - **She just snooping around, I guess. Watching people's televisions when they're at work and reading children's diaries when they are at school. That sort of thing, y'know?

**Wuya - **O_O But I'm nothing like that?

**Hazzard - *Death glare* **I don't care that you're already dead...***whispers* **I will find a way...

**Jack, Wuya + Chase - **o_e

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	14. Chapter 14

**The personal update for today is just that as the World cup has basically started, my guy friends are having a sleep over to watch the England game together and, as I usually hang around with them (I'm basically one of the guys as well), I've been invited too. So tomorrow night (Saturday) I shall be sitting with a group boys, screaming at the television pretending like I'm a pro footballer and all that jazz. Fun times :P Really.**

**Anyways, here is a thank you to engineercross for the first chapter 13 review ^_^**

**And now,**

**Enjoy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!**

* * *

***~The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 14 ~***

I woke with a start as I heard the door click and bang against the brick and plaster of the wall. My heavy eyelids shot wide and I backed away, confused as I was still half asleep. But as three Jackbots filed in to the room, the past events came back to me. But how long had I been asleep? I couldn't tell what kind of time of day it was because of the lack of windows in this room. Was it still night? Was it morning of the next day? I was too tired and groggy to even try to guess.

Jack walked in to stand beside the robots and looked down at me. He didn't look happy and he looked tired as well. There were dark rings under his eyes, just making his eyeliner look a little thicker than it really was.

"What's your name?" he basically barked at me.

"I told you," I replied yawning, and I slowly came up to standing, "My name's Rae."

"No! What's your full name?" he snapped. I flinched at the tone and he sighed in a frustrated way, "Sorry. I'm just running a background search on you. I can't find anything. I've been looking for…a while now…I just need your name. It'll be a lot easier."

"Why?" I asked, a chill of fear running up my spine. After a moment's pause I whispered, "Don't send me home."

He stared in to my eyes suspiciously and after a long tense silence he asked, "Why did you run away?"

I gasped my eyes wide, "How do you know that?"

There was a pause before he replied looking away, "I have my ways. So? Why did you leave home?"

"I…my dad…I can't go back," I shuddered just thinking about it. My father would never forgive me for leaving and if I came back out of the blue he would never leave me out of his sight again. He would never trust me again. I needed to prove that I had made the right decision in seeking help before I even thought about returning home, "Not yet, anyway. Please, Jack."

Again another pause before he asked, "What happened?"

"Jack, I don't-"

"Just tell me!" he ordered in that irritated tone.

I breathed in a shaky breath before answering, "I can manipulate the dark," I watched Jack turn to glare at the wall beside me as I continued talking, "My father hates that I have this and won't accept that I can't just lock it away. I needed help and he wouldn't let me go…so I ran away," after yet another short pause I pleaded, "Please Jack, I know it doesn't sound like a big deal but if you'd been there…you'd know how much I needed this. How much I still…still need this."

His eyes trailed back to mine and I searched them for some sort of hope that I could cling to. He closed his eyes and sighed, "If you give me your full name, you can stay here."

"But you know now, you don't have to do any background –" he interrupted me.

"There are still things I can find out from your name," he turned his gaze back to me and when he saw the sadness etched in to my features his anger seemed to waver. He turned away from me and walked to the door, "I suppose you're hungry. I'll come back with food. The research can wait."

He left the room leaving only one of the robots with me. Its hollow eyes watched eerily as I paced the room impatiently and now that Spicer had mentioned it I was kind of hungry. I just hoped that he brought back something that I at least found somewhat appetising.

After more than five minutes passed, I slid down the far wall beside the couch and brought my knees up to my face. I wrapped my arms around my legs and turned my head to the side to rest it on the tops of my knees, facing away from the creepy staring eyes of the Jackbot. I even decided to close my eyes in case it decided to come closer.

More time passed and I finally heard some shuffling next to me and then the door being shut with a loud click that echoed the room.

I opened my eyes and found Jack staring back at me, close to my face. I jumped back with a yelp and hit my head on the arm of the couch.

"Ow!" I cried clutching the back of my head and pulling it down between my knees.

"Sorry, I didn't know if you were asleep again or not," he exclaimed defensively.

"Really? That close though?" I whined still holding my head between my legs.

"Here," I looked up dropping one hand while the other still held on to the back of my head. He was holding out a spoon and a bowl with what looked like…chocolate pudding.

Letting go of the sore spot on my head, taken completely by surprise with this food, I took the dish from him tentatively. I prodded the chocolate dome with the spoon experimentally and watched intently as if it were about to explode.

"It's just chocolate," Jack said after a while of me not entirely trusting it. I looked at him. He was sat right beside me eating his own chocolate pudding in a bowl just like mine.

I looked back at my own bowl and asked, "Am I a guest or a prisoner?"

"You can be both if you like," he offered around a mouthful of food and not taking his eyes off of the chocolaty goodness in front of him. He swallowed and as he scooped up another spoonful he said, "You can be a prisoner who's treated like a guest."

"And why would you do that?" I asked confused and narrowed my eyes at him in suspicion.

"Because like I said before, I don't really know you, Rae," he replied and then looked at me dead in the eye and said bluntly, "And you're quite pretty."

My eyes widened and I whipped my head away, turning an intense stare on the upside down cake in front of me. I just knew that my cheeks would be flaming red because of that burning sensation of embarrassment. I cleared my throat loudly and before shovelling pudding in to my system as quickly as possible, I replied gruffly, "Erm, thanks, I guess."

There was a silence for a time, filled only with the sounds of our chewing and the clink of the metal spoons against the clay of the plates.

After a little while, I asked quietly, "What's the time?"

He brought his wrist to his face and I watched as his eyes blinked and then he went back to eating. Then after a mouthful, "Three in the morning," he grumbled.

"Three? In the morning?" I repeated shocked, "Why the hell would you come in here and wake me at three in the morning?"

"I just...I couldn't sleep and the – I mean – and I was a little angry about – um, minor issues that aren't exactly working out at the moment. So, I tried to search for info about you because if I'm keeping you here I'd like to know a little more about you. I spent about three hours searching on the slowest computer in the house because the fastest computer in the house is currently sharing a room with…some…issues and just – nothing! Nothing at all. I found nothing…but the real point in all this is that," he stopped for a breather and then turned his focus on me with an apologetic look and finished, "I just didn't really think about the time, to be completely honest – Okay? I just found a dead-end, got fed up and came here to find some answers."

"No wonder you look so tired," I muttered turning back to the last few bites of my pudding. I noted then that he had finished his now and was just holding on to the bowl.

"Me?" he said and smirked, "You don't look so hot yourself."

"I thought that you just said I was pretty," I mumbled, making sure not to look at him otherwise my cheeks would flare up again if they weren't already a bright red beacon still.

I could still see the smirking out of the corner of my eye, "Yeah, but…okay so you're cute but you still have all your make up smudged around your face."

My eyes flew up to the wall ahead as I remembered that the crying had originally blurred the black make up around my eyes, "Oh, crap," I grumbled around a mouthful of food. I swallowed and groaned, "I bet it's even worse now. I already looked like a panda, for goodness sake."

"If you come with me, I can take you to the bathroom so you can get cleaned up, if you want?" he offered and a million ways to try to escape the house flew in to my brain.

_It's a door! A way out! Say yes! Say yes! _"Um, thanks," I replied nodding.

He smiled and stood up, then reached out a hand for me to take and pulled me up with him. He let go and I followed him to the door. I watched as he turned the handle and the door opened almost soundlessly. Once outside he took the bowl from my hands and gave both empty dishes to a Jackbot who flew off the moment it had received the dirty washing up to clean.

_Should I go now?_ I wondered_. Run while he's not paying so much attention? It'll catch him off guard, for sure._ But there were still too many Jackbots about._ No, not yet._

"Come on this way. It's just down here," he told me and lead the way.

_I could run now, he's not even looking!_ I thought and my eyes darted around looking for places to jump in to and hide while I figured out my next moves. But he turned back for a moment and smiled kindly when our eyes connected. He turned his head forward again and I cringed to myself, _Okay, so not yet then. He's still checking up on me._

"Here we are," he announced and opened the door to reveal a rather large bathroom that looked shiny and blue and new.

The first thing I noticed was the long, wide frosted glass window just over the toilet just to the left of the sink and mirror above it. _I could climb out! How many stories high am I? Three? Oh it doesn't matter! I could still try!_

"Thanks," I repeated with a smile and walked in – but then he walked in with me! "Um, what are you doing?"

"Okay, I may not have a reason to hate on you but I don't exactly have a reason to trust you either," he shrugged as if I should have expected this. I cursed myself for thinking escape would be so easy. He grinned then, "If you wanna wash up completely, I guess I could turn around."

I rolled my eyes as I saw what he did when he turned around, "You're just staring at my reflection in all the other mirrors in the room. Jesus! Why _are_ there so many mirrors in this room?"

"Really loves himself, I guess," just then there was an edge to his voice but before I could ask what he meant, he grinned and said, "I'll close my eyes. I promise."

"You know sound like horny twelve-year-old boy right now?" I pointed out with a giggle that I couldn't hold back.

He smiled at the sound and laughed too, "So sue me. You're a cute girl, why wouldn't I want to see you…naked?"

"Hey!" I cried going completely red. He turned back to me with a sly grin on his face and so I whacked his arm and reminded him, "Inappropriate! Especially since we barely know each other! Jesus Christ, Jack! I can't believe you just said that!"

"Sorry was that a little too blunt?" he asked with the kind of smile that already knew the answer to that question.

I sighed heavily shaking my head, "You're unbelievable."

"Okay, fine. I shall go and get you a change of clothes, there is a towel in the cupboard over there. In the time that I am gone you can wash and undress. When I return I will open the door slide the fresh clothes in and give you five minutes to put them on. Fair enough?" he suggested seriously.

I rolled my eyes and asked, "Really?"

"Look, you're still my prisoner, aren't you? You're just treated with a lot more care than the others," he pointed out and then added to emphasise the point, "They don't get pudding and showers. You're the lucky one."

I rolled my eyes again but I couldn't help the smile that crossed my face, "Well, I guess pudding's better than plain toast and water."

"They don't even get toast. Just bread," he winked at me.

"So you trust to leave me alone in here?" I asked narrowing my eyes challengingly.

He shrugged and began walking out of the room, "I suppose I have to, really. Girls need their privacy even though I don't see the problems of the alternative option. Oh well. Be back in a few."

Then something he said suddenly registered in my mind, "Jack? What do you mean by others? Are they here?"

"Not exactly," he replied looking at me with a dead serious expression, "But you're right in assuming that I was the kidnapper. They're alive and well, you don't need to worry about them."

"Well, I hope it'll stay that way," I said in exactly the same serious tone.

"So do I," he replied and there was a moment of silence that passed between us. Then he turned away and called in before shutting the door behind him and locking it from the outside with a key, "The windows locked by the way."

* * *

**Jack -** Why couldn't I just watch her changing?

**Hazzard -** Cause you barely know her, you perv!

**Jack - **But...Hazzard, I'm a male and males have these _urges_ you see and when a young female such a Rae appears we-

**Hazzard -** Dude! Didn't you read the personal update? I hang with boys! I know what they're like! Jesus! Just stop. Now. please.

**Chase - **Yes, do stop. You're making me feel rather uncomfortable.

**Wuya -** I feel slightly nauseated myself.

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	15. Chapter 15

**I feel like I'm beginning to speed things up and I'm not entirely comfortable but there is no other direction that I have worked out yet, so it would be much appreciated if at any moment the story begins to lose its, more or less, realistic feel you would give me a heads-up and let me know ;) That way I can change things to improve the story and keep it on the right side of the fence ^_^**

**Anyway, for a personal update, I was playing Cluedo with my best friend and his sister today...the mind-games, guys...the mind-games :') I started them and I got foiled by them *smh* Goddamnit!**

**Enjoy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!**

* * *

***~The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 15 ~***

While I had been getting myself all cleaned up, Jack had been doing more than getting a fresh change of clothes. When I had returned to the room with him, I saw that he had ordered the Jackbots to replace the dusty old couch with a clean-looking, seemingly comfy bed. He had also moved in a long dress mirror in the corner where the small lamp had been and now instead there was a bigger, brighter lamp stationed next to it. There was also a coffee table next to the bed with more than one book on it now.

"You said it was dusty...and I don't know if you like reading but you did have Oliver Twist open so…" that was all he had said before leaving me to get 'settled in' again. That and also, "If you need me just knock on the door and ask the Jackbot."

Now I was standing in front of the mirror staring at myself in the new change of clothing. I was wearing a black vest top that was way too long and baggy for me, which meant that every time I leant forward you could see my bra through the arm holes. I made sure that I wore my hair loose so that it was just a little more hidden than it would have been. I also had on some beige shorts which, again, were too long for me so they ended up looking like three-quarter length trousers instead. I had to borrow a belt as well and yet the shorts were still a little loose. I was a size ten girl wearing a young man's outfit – it's not a surprise that it didn't fit!

I sighed taking one last twirl to check the back as well. Yeah, everything was fair enough from what I could see.

I walked over to the bed and fell back in to the mattress and gasped at the sponginess of it. My body didn't sink in to it and nor did it meet with a hard jab of springs; instead it was although the bed gently caught me and held me.

I closed my eyes and sighed deeply, immediately feeling the energy being sapped away from me. But instead of feeling weak and groggy, I felt light and sleepy. Soon enough I was in the land of dreams.

These dreams began with a normal day at home with Dad. We were sat in the living room with the television on entertaining itself, while I played angry birds on my mobile and Dad read the newspaper as usual. I didn't have to think to know it was Sunday.

All of a sudden the screen on the mobile faded and the dead battery sign flashed on and off three times before it shut itself down. I heaved a heavy sigh and threw my mobile down on the sofa beside me. I looked over to the neighbouring sofa where Dad was sat engrossed in the latest news.

'Politician Steals from Shelter' was the biggest headline I could make out. I rolled my eyes – why people sit and read the news I could never understand. I get the whole fact of being up to date with the times but why are there never any positive headlines? Any nice stories to read? It's just a paper book full of negativity in my eyes.

I pushed myself up from the seat and walked out to the kitchen but as I entered the hallway I froze. This wasn't my hallway. This hall was bigger and there was more doors and a grander staircase than my staircase. There was also a double door entrance and big rectangular frosted glass windows either side.

I turned to walk back in to the living room to find Dad and ask him what had happened to the house but I turned back in to a different room – a bigger room than my living room, with a lot of dusty books and faded curtains. The door slammed shut behind me, as it had done once before and the nightmare began again.

I spun around and hammered on the door instantly slipping in to hysteria, "Help! Let me out! Please!"

The picture on the wall with the sweet faces, now looking eerie and gloomy in the darkened room, seemingly watched my panicked self struggle with the door.

"Rae?" I gasped at the voice and turned to see Jack standing there looking at me.

He looked puzzled, as if he didn't understand why I was there. I didn't reply this time, not even utter a single sound. My hitched breathing and the pounding of my heart were the only sounds to echo from my body, at this moment in time.

"I don't like it in here," he mumbled and he looked deeply saddened but I didn't know what he meant. This was his house wasn't it? It surely wasn't my living room anymore. When he realised I wasn't going to reply, he sighed and added, "There's not enough room to move…to play."

"Then…" I stuttered in fear, "Then open the door and leave."

"I don't want to leave, I only want freedom to roam," he replied looking at me as if the thought of leaving disgusted him. I was still very confused. He shook his head and turned away from me, while folding his arms, "I can't just open the door either. It's locked."

"But…but it's your house," I pointed out almost soundlessly.

I watched in terror as he turned back to me in a slow, angry motion. His eyes were alive with fire and his mouth was twisted in to an unnatural formation showing all of his teeth. My breath caught in my throat as his skin began to melt away and the multiple voices accompanied his again.

"I can't just open the door, Rae!" he roared at me as he neared and grew taller until he was just a mass of darkness towering over me.

Seconds passed until I recaptured my vocals and screamed as loud as my lungs would allow me to.

In the next few moments I was being violently awoken.

* * *

"Rae! Rae! Stop screaming!"

As I was being shaken, my eyes opened slowly at first as I yelled out my cries for help. Then they snapped wide and I stopped screaming. My eyes landed on the owner of the hands that rattled me and I gasped at the sight of my nightmare come alive. I pushed at him and when he lost his grip, I scrambled away from him and pressed myself up against the head post of the bed.

Jack looked confused but he held up his hands in surrender, "Hey, you were screaming. I didn't know what to do. Are you okay?"

"Jack?" I squeaked in a cracked timid voice.

"Yes?" he replied uncertainly.

Tears broke in my eyes and I brought my knees up. I hugged my legs as I buried my face, trying my best to hide the fear that was leaking from my eyes now, despite the fact that my shoulders were visibly shaking clearly giving it away.

"Rae, what's going on?" Jack asked in a softer tone, which was still etched with confusion.

"Sorry, I'll…I'll be fine, in a moment," I sobbed as quietly as I could, "Just give me a moment."

"Um, okay," he replied uncertainly and I felt the bed shift.

I peeked over the tops of my knees and saw that he had sat down at the end and was staring at the other side of the room. He looked a little uneasy and like he was being overly careful not to even look in my general direction.

I sniffed and grumbled, "I…um, I had a nightmare."

"Oh," was all he said, still he didn't turn that uneasy expression on me. Instead he turned it on the ground in front of him, as if remembering his own childhood fears.

"I had a nightmare yesterday as well," I confessed looking down at the big socks on my feet – another piece of borrowed clothing that didn't fit me.

"Really?" he asked and now he looked at me, intrigued I suppose, "What about? What happened?"

I stared at him for the longest time, debating internally whether I should tell him the truth or a heavily edited version of events. Either way, there was a nagging voice at the back of my mind telling me to hurry up and decided before he got suspicious from this long silence.

_Just try to make it as vague as possible! He won't notice! _My mind snapped at me and so I began quietly, averting my gaze, "I was, err, in a big house yesterday and I couldn't find a way out. All the doors were locked and, um, there was no one there. Today's nightmare was similar but not entirely the same. Either way I end up locked in the same room each time."

"Then what happens?" Jack asked and I could tell by the way he leaned in that he was intrigued by all this – which meant he was listening properly, which meant I would have to hide the fact that I always ran in to him…why did I always run in to him?

"Out of nowhere…a boy appears in the room with me and he always seems…erm, normal at first. But then he starts to change and his skin melts away and all that's left are shadows," I finish looking away at the ground as the images flashed through my memory, "My shadows."

"His skin melts away?" Jack repeated and then made face like he'd just tasted something sour, "I'd hate to watch that happen, probably hate it more so if I was the one whose skin was melting. Yeah, that would probably hurt."

My eyes snapped back to his face to see if he'd somehow figured out that he was boy in my dream. But he was looking at the far wall shaking his head as if he could see it happening inside his head as well.

Then he turned back to me and asked, "Are you going try to go back to sleep or would you like something to eat?"

"Um, I'm not hungry," I mumbled and then grimaced at the thought of another nightmare, "But I'm not entirely fond of watching someone's face melt again either."

He chuckled at my lame comment and although it wasn't all that funny, the sound made me feel a little better about it. He stood up and shrugged, "It's about 12, you can probably find something to watch on television. If not, you could always watch one of my DVD movies or box sets if you like."

"I don't have a T.V. in here," I replied not picking up his hint.

He rolled his eyes and said, "I know, I'm offering you some freedom."

My eyes widened at the offer, "Really? I can leave?"

"Only this room! You can't leave the house and you'll have two Jackbots with you at all times," he explained, holding up his index finger to mark his point.

"Why?" I asked.

"In case you try to escape," he pointed out as if it was obvious.

I rolled my eyes and then shook my head, "No! I mean why are you giving me the option to roam your house – yet again – like a guest and not a kidnap-ee."

"Erk, Katnappe. I don't like her," he mumbled more so to himself, "Just a giant fur ball of utter annoyance."

"What the hell is a Katnappe?" I asked confused.

"A girl…a weird girl," he commented looking away as if he was seeing her in his mind and trying to work her out.

"Okay," I replied slowly and then added, "Anyway, I didn't say that. I said kidnap-ee. Why am I being treated like this?" I motioned to all the things in the room.

He looked around and then back at me. His arms then flew about his head in a sort of spasm as he cried out helplessly, "I don't know! I'm just trying to be nice!" he dropped his arms again and frowned at me.

I sighed and looked down at my borrowed socks again and mumbled, "I'm not ungrateful…just confused."

After a moment Jack sighed and flopped back down on to the bed again. Glaring at the wall opposite he grumbled in irritation, "I just thought that we could maybe become friends."

"Even though I'm Xiaolin and you're...um, Har-lin?" I asked.

He looked at me and his frown slipped away replaced by a smirk at my mistake, "Yes, even though I'm_ Hey-_lin. It just means that I won't be as much of an arse to you than I would be to others."

"'As much of' meaning still an arse?" his smile widened, clearly happy that I had picked up his subtle comment and I rolled my eyes at him, not being able to suppress the smile that crept on to my lips as well, "Well, this should be fun."

* * *

**Wuya - **Am I really intruding in peoples lives? Cause I've clearly disappeared o.O

**Hazzard - **Maybe I just don't like you -_-

**Wuya - **But it says here in your facebook inbox that you were thinking of cosplaying me in October for MCM.

**Hazzard - o_e#**

**Wuya - **...Oh god! I am intruding in people's lives! How embarrassing...

**Jack - **HA!

**Wuya - **-_-

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry this update is later than usual, I got a bit side tracked over the week.**

**Anyway, I got the loveliest review that I think I've ever received for any story I have ever written on this website from dannyastro29. I'm so happy that you're enjoying the story and thank you so much for the kind words. I'm so glad that I have inspired you to keep writing, that is truly amazing in my eyes since I'm not all _that_ confident in my story telling. I'm aware I have the ability to share ideas and put forth a scenario but for someone to tell me that I have inspired them to write as well is just...wow! Thank you. That really made my day when I read it. Thank you so much and good luck in improving your writing skills like I'm still trying to as I continue this story and the future stories as well ^_^**

**Note - I feel like this maybe another slightly dramatic chapter! So this is your warning - also for the heavy swearing!**

**Enjoy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!**

* * *

***~The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 16 ~***

"You're so restless, child, sit down," her voice was so soft and soothing that I instantly obeyed without question. My six-year-old self ran over to her side and sat down on the grass with her. We were at the park with Dad…with Mum. She put her arm around me, "Good girl, Rachel."

I stretched my arms around her body but they weren't long enough to fit around her medium size frame. She chuckled softly and hugged me tighter. Dad came over and sat down as well with the basket in hand.

"So who wants cake?" he asked with a big smile on his face, his eyes already in my direction.

"Me!" I sang shooting my arms in the air, "Please! Please! Please!"

"No, proper food first," Mum said sternly, shooting Dad a warning glare which he smirked at, and then turned back to me and smiled, "Then after you've eaten that, _then_ you can have dessert."

"Why can't I have cake for everything?" I asked, making Dad laugh as he got all the sandwiches unpacked and on to plates for us all.

"Because then you wouldn't have those pearly white teeth to make that beautiful smile of yours," Mum explained and then added as if it was obvious and well-known, "Anyway, if you have too much of the things you enjoy, you'll lose interest. In other words, you'll eventually get bored with cake, love."

"I don't think I could ever get bored of cake," I told her like it was an important issue and folded my arms.

Mum and Dad shared a smile and turned back to me again, "Rae-Rae, if you eat your sandwich first, I'll get Mummy to play catch with us, okay?" Dad asked with promise in his tone and a wink of his eye.

I smiled brightly; I loved playing games as a big family so of course I jumped at the deal, "Okay! Yes!"

We all sat and ate lunch, and I actually enjoyed the sandwich. It wasn't as bland as I thought it was going to be – it was rather sweet actually. When I opened it to inspect the filling, I found that it was jam. I used to love jam at that age. The cake was as nice as I expected, wonderfully creamy and full of chocolate!

After lunch I dragged Dad up and a little way away from our picnic spot in to a bit of a clearing. He let me lead him all the way there and when I ran back to Mum he waited there obediently watching with his hands on his hips. I grabbed hold of Mum's wrists and pulled her along too. She smiled and laughed softly as I led her over.

"Rachel, are you forgetting something?" she asked me and when I looked around confused she laughed and pointed out, "How do you expect to play catch without a ball?"

"Oh! I'll go and get it!" I cheered as I left her to walk the rest of the way to meet Dad on her own as I ran to the car. I opened the unlocked door and jumped in…and then screamed at the top of my lungs.

There was a man in here with me. His trembling hands on the car radio, his weird twitchy eyes on me.

"Rachel!" I heard Mum's terrified, alarmed cry.

The man gasped and looked fearfully over my shoulder out the back window to see my parents now sprinting to my rescue.

"Shit!" he cursed and reached back, grabbing for me.

I struggled and screamed but he caught hold of the front of my dress and dragged me over the seats to him. He then exited the car and held me against his chest with one arm around me and the other hand at my throat.

"Not another step!" the man demanded wildly, with a hoarse, gruff voice. I watched Mum and Dad freeze with torment in their faces as they watched helplessly. The man grunted and lazily gestured with the hand that wasn't holding me to him, "Nice car you got there."

"You want it, you can have it," Dad responded quickly and took a step closer.

The man took a step back and replaced his hand back under my chin. Dad froze again and I could see the anger in his eyes.

"Really for this little girl?" the creepy man looked down at me and roughly turned my face up at him. His twitchy eyes ran over my face and he laughed.

"Of course! She's our daughter!" Dad snapped angrily, "If you can't understand that then you're obviously not a father."

I watched the man's unfocused eyes snap back to Dad and his smile dropped right off of his scruffy face. His voice came out like a loud, angry roar of a dying lion, "Fuck you! I have a son! I have a daughter! Two of 'em! Did you know him? Did he tell you about me? Did he tell you how much he hates me? How do you-how do you know Jeremy? Did he tell you what his mother did to me? Huh? That bastard boy! Did he tell you? Huh? You stand there judging me! You don't know me! Not even he knows me! That kid. This kid. She doesn't fucking know me. No one does anymore!"

"Sean, do something!" I heard mum squeal in fear while this confused man continued to spew nonsense and bad curses that I had never heard being used so casually before.

"What the hell am I supposed to do, Andie?" Dad snapped back at Mum, still this man continued to rant and ramble on.

"You don't know how it feels to be such a let-down to your kids and how it feels for you kids to be such a let-down to you! It hurts! It really fucking hurts! To have everything taken from you when you give them all you can, it's like the world is sticking two fingers up at you and laughing in your face! This life is shit! My life is shit and you don't get it!"

The more I saw Mum and Dad panic and the more this man growled about his confusing and unhappy life the more the fear crept in to my system. _He's going to hurt me! He's going to hurt me!_

I screamed again…and this time a shadow rose up from the ground rushing around my body and transferring itself via me on to the man. He screamed as the blackness surrounded him and clung to him like Clingfilm. His hold fell away and I ran just two steps before being scooped up by my father and passed over to my mother, who cooed and kissed me.

We then watched as the shadows started to restrict and slowly, slowly began to crush the man. I watched scared, not sure what was happening and Dad looked just as horrified. Mum looked worried as well and her eyes were constantly flicking from the man to me and then back again. We all watched as the darkness squeezed the air out of him and became skin-tight.

"Rachel, it's okay now," Mum whispered in to my ear. But I couldn't take my eyes off of the man. So she placed her hand on my cheek and turned me to face her. She looked just as terrified but there was a small reassuring smile over her lips, "It's alright, Rachel. Mummy's got you."

The racing of my heart slowed down and I heard a thud and gasping. I looked over to the man again and saw the shadows sinking back to the ground and returning to their casters, while the old grubby guy gasped in the breaths he had lost.

"I'm calling the police," Dad said and the man on the ground freaked and hurriedly scrambled to his feet in an attempt to run. But from the momentary loss of oxygen, he was clumsy and disorientated. He fell to the ground again. Dad turned back to Mum, handing her the car keys and whispered; I almost couldn't hear, "Take Rachel home, I'll make sure this man is taken in."

"Okay," Mum nodded but she still looked unsure.

Mum and I got in the car and drove all the way home in silence. I hugged my legs all the way there, scared in case the man appeared in the back seats again or if he might hurt Dad. Mum looked too concentrated and focused on the road to answer any questions that I might have so I didn't even try.

"Will Daddy be okay?" I finally asked after we pulled up outside the house.

Mum looked at me blankly and after more than a minute she smiled reassuringly and replied, "Of course he will, darling. You know your father. He's a very strong man, he'll be fine."

I sighed with relief, always believing in every word she said, "Okay."

"C'mon let's get inside," she finally suggested and so I quickly jumped out of the car and dashed up to the house.

Although the house was always locked, I always tried to open it. This time however the door swung wide and so I stepped through…into a different hallway and when I turned to look in a long dress mirror beside the double doors I had just entered, I saw that I was back to my nineteen year old self again.

I looked back to the door hoping to run back out to my mother but the doors had closed behind me and I couldn't see her through the frosted glass. I couldn't see anyone, just a green garden. I turned in to the hallway and backed up against the cold door.

_I'm dreaming again,_ I finally realised. _But why did I dream about that? Why did I dream about her?_

I slid down the door deciding that I would wait there until I woke up. I didn't feel like going back to that room where Jack always melted away in to my fears. Not today. I was losing sleep lately because of this and I felt shattered. Couldn't I have just this one night to catch up, please?_ Please?_

Apparently not; I suppose because I had not come to him, he came to me instead.

"Rae, there you are!" Jack sounded relieved as if I had been lost forever and he had finally found me again, "I've been searching for you all night. You were lost."

"No, I wasn't?" I replied and took his hand when he offered it. He pulled me up to stand with him.

"Yes, you were. You always are," he said to me looking me straight in the eye with a serious, unfathomable expression.

I didn't understand what he meant but this was dream, wasn't it? Nothing made sense in dreams.

"You saw her," he breathed, his eyes wide in shock. When I didn't reply he shook me and repeated more urgently, "You did, didn't you? You saw her!"

"What?" I cried as I tried to pull out of his grip.

"Mother! You saw mother!" he squealed.

"I saw _my_ Mum," I replied confused and slightly afraid as he continued to shake me.

"No, my mother! Our mother! Your mother! Their mother! You saw her! You saw her! You saw her!" he cried and like all the other dreams his skin turned to ooze and slowly dribbled away from the shadows beneath it. Their scratchy voice screamed frantically as one, "Where did she go?"

"I don't know!" I screamed terrified and I cowered away from them, "Please! I'm sorry, but I don't know!"

* * *

"Rae! Rae! It's just another nightmare!" Jack cried desperately trying to wake me, "Rae!"

My eyes finally opened wide and I shot up to a sitting position, ready to bolt at any time. Slowly my surrounding became apparent. I was in Jack's rather large and spacious study room, and the television was on the title menu of Stargate Atlantis, season four, disc three. I had fallen asleep watching the third episode on the disc I guessed, as that was all I remembered watching.

I inhaled a shaky breath and then slowly exhaled, letting my body fall back on the sofa limply and letting my eyes shut again. I felt exhausted.

"You alright?" Jack asked.

I reopened my eyes and looked up at him. He was sitting by my head, looking down at me with slight concern on his face. He looked uncertain, like he wasn't sure what to say under these circumstances.

"Have you ever had nightmares, Jack?" I asked quietly.

"When I was younger," he shrugged and the looked away as he added, "And every now and then, I guess."

"Then you should know," I replied closing my eyes again, "No…but I will be."

There was a short pause before he asked, "Did you dream about the boy again?"

I looked up at him and searched his eyes, trying to find out if he had realised the boy was him or not. After a few seconds of searching I replied honestly, "Yes."

"Did he melt again?" he asked.

I looked up at the ceiling remembering yet again, "Yes," there was another short silence until I said aloud something that still confused me, "But I dreamt about my mother this time."

In my peripheral vision I saw Jack look at the ground trying to remember if I had mentioned anything about her before or if he knew anything about a mother of mine. He then looked back at me and asked, "Do you miss your parents?"

"No," I replied and looked up in to his eyes. He frowned at me not understanding so I went on, "I miss my father…but I ran away from him and I plan to go back," his frowned deepened in more confusion now. I looked away. That was all I was prepared to say at this moment in time.

"I miss my Mum," Jack finally offered after yet another pause.

"Where is she?" I asked, looking back to him.

He locked eyes with me and sighed, "With my Dad. They travel. He has meetings, she tags along, I stay here. Just how it is now."

"Now?"

"Yeah," he looked down and played with the fraying fabric of his couch. He smiled weakly but didn't sound like he was happy at all, "She used to stay here and look after me. She would get me up for school with a big breakfast and even drive me there. She'd meet me afterwards as well and sometimes we'd even go out and eat somewhere together. If I fell over and hurt myself or if I had a nightmare, she'd always be there to make me feel better," he paused and sighed, "But this distance between my parents was getting to them and in the end Dad suggested that we go with him, but I complained about my education. I was sixteen after all and just finishing my exams – on top of that I had a Heylin witch constantly down my neck and Xiaolin monks beating me up on a daily basis. It's a miracle that I actually passed _any_ of the exams, let alone all of them," he shook his head at the memories and shrugged as he finished, "Anyway, she decided to go without me and since then I only ever get a call or a brief visit every few weeks, sometimes months if they're busy."

I stared at him with narrowed eyes processing his story. I asked in a puzzled tone, "And you miss this woman?"

He stared back at me confused again, "What do you mean by that? Of course I miss her."

"But she got up and left you," I pointed out, "All alone. In this big house."

"But I love her and she loves me," Jack shrugged and explained, "And she's still my mother, right?"

I went to reply but decided against it. I had learnt in school that not everyone shared the same opinions as me. In the end I settled for a shrug and said, "If you say so."

Jack looked over to the T.V and picked up the remote hitting play. He moved a bit over to give me some more room to see and then he settled back against the cushions of the couch beside me. I turned to lay on my side, facing the television.

"So you like Stargate, eh?" he mumbled, changing the subject. I just nodded, causing some of my messy hair to fall in front of my face. I heard him laugh quietly as I brushed it back with my hand. He then added, "I haven't watched these discs in years."

"I used to watch these with my Dad," I mumbled.

* * *

**Jack - **I don't watch Stargate.

**Hazzard - **You do in this story.

**Jack - **Who really watches that anyway?

**Hazzard - **Me! I do! I love Stargate! I'm still waiting for my friend to let me borrow them from him! D; Gah!

**Jack - **Really? o.O I thought Xiaolin Showdown was your thing.

**Hazzard - **It is...but I've seen them already...again...and again and again...

**Jack -** What about Chronicles?

**Hazzard - *crying* **It's not the same! You're not voiced by Danny Cooksey anymore! Dx

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	17. Chapter 17

**Sorry that it's been longer than a week. I was trying to work out exactly what to write next and how to write it, also I was busy on certain days :) Anyways, in this chapter Raimundo is in Scotland in Helensburgh and I apologise to anyone who lives there or who has been there because I haven't. It was all just google searches for my information and although it's not a lot, I just hope that I have made some blindly obvious mistake to some while not so obvious to others, including myself. So with that information and the apology for any grammar mistakes and misspellings...**

**Enjoy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!**

Note - I decided to separate a section of this chapter because it seemed a little confusing, although not if read correctly. But just to ensure everyone understands the section in between the breaks is an event that happened in the past. I am basically pointing out the obvious here but there you go... :)

* * *

***~The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 17 ~***

"Excuse me, could you point me in the direction of Riverbank Bar &amp; Restaurant," Raimundo asked the passer-by.

* * *

He had been walking around Helensburgh for about half an hour now, looking for this simple place to find this one particular person that he knew hardly anything about. All he was told was that she was the Spirit. What that meant he had no idea – but if it could help him stop Spicer then he would definitely find them.

Three days ago, he and Rae had gone back to the Temple to find that it had been captured by Jack and his Jackbots. When Raimundo had left Rae's side he had only just jumped over to the next roof when he heard the chaos erupt out of nowhere. Looking back he saw Rae doing her best to battle with the bots – and she was doing pretty good too – but she was outnumbered by far and it wasn't too long before she got captured as well.

He rolled his eyes as he tried to flatten himself against the roof trying not to be seen by the Jackbot now flying overhead, escorting her to Jack's place, most likely. _So _now_ she wants to help._

He had continued on to the next roof of the main Temple hall and jumped down to the ground. Rai then used his element to knock over a vase around fifteen feet away just to get the Jackbots away from the doors. It of course worked and inside the hall he found Master Fung caged with the other elderly monks.

"Master Fung, what happened?" Raimundo asked trying to keep quiet in case of alerting the enemy of his presence.

"Raimundo, you must not be found. I'm afraid Jack Spicer has outdone himself this time," Master Fung warned the young dragon.

"Was he alone? I mean this is Jack we're talking about. This is…not his thing," Raimundo looked around and then decided to rephrase that sentence, "Okay, it's evil so it _is_ his thing – but he's not usually good at it. How did this happen?"

"His actions were quick and calculated," Master Fung answered and then glared at the doorway which was still thankfully empty, "His robots improved and in greater numbers," he looked back at the Dragon of Wind, "Where is Rae?"

"I told her to hide," he explained and then confessed, "But she decided to fight, I guess. She got taken away just now."

Master Fung's eyes went wide, "Raimundo you have to make sure Jack doesn't learn who she is. Don't try to rescue her, the boy has this all worked out like a game of chess. One wrong move and its checkmate for the Xiaolin side."

"What do you mean? I can get in and out of there without getting captured myself. It's just Spicer!" Raimundo exclaimed feeling sort of offended at the idea of someone like Jack being able to catch him.

"Look around you, Raimundo," Master Fung snapped, "Spicer has the upper hand. Don't be stupid. Don't you remember the first time you went against my orders? You led Mala Mala Jong –"

"Straight to the others - I know!" Raimundo sighed frustrated, "If I can't rescue her then what can I do?"

"You must go to Scotland and find the Spirit," Master Fung told him in all seriousness.

"The what?" and here he was. In Helensburgh, Scotland looking for a woman who goes by the name of April and she is some sort of…Spirit? Medium? Witch? He didn't know. But if it would help the Xiaolin then he would continue to search for the woman.

* * *

The passer-by pointed down the street with a quiet grunt and then carried on their way leaving Raimundo to walk in the opposite direction. After another five minutes of walking along the shops on the edge of the town, he finally came to find the place.

He took a moment to work out how he would carry out his next steps. Would he just come right out and ask where she was? Or would he play it out a little and see if she just somehow made herself known?

As Rai pushed in to the diner, he decided he would go with something in the middle of those paths. He'd ask subtle questions until he had enough info to run on.

A young redhead about the age of eighteen hopped over to him with a big smile and asked, "Can I help you, sir?"

_Damn, she's hot! _"Err…" _What was the plan again? Goddammit! _

The Scottish girl giggled as she urged him to answer, "Sir?"

_Forget the plan! Just ask about…what's-her-face! _"Oh, right. Is April working today?"

"Oh, April? Yeah, she's cooking in the back," the redhead explained, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb to emphasize the point. She then added with a little hop, seemingly happy to help, "She'll be finishing her shift soon, if you want to wait."

"Yeah, sure," Raimundo nodded and, when the girl gestured to the nearest table, he sat down.

"Now, can I get you anything while you wait?" and she smiled again.

Raimundo stared at the girl for a moment, admiring the sight before him. Here was a beautiful young lady, with her red hair tied back in a high ponytail where it sprang out in to cute little ringlets at the back, wearing a pencil skirt just above her knees and a simple white blouse that held her rather rounded chest. She had big green eyes that sparkled with excitement and a bright smile that drew you in. Yet she didn't exactly grab his attention – not entirely, anyway – she was just a hot girl, when he thought about it. _Eh, maybe I'm growing up_, he thought, shrugging internally.

"No, thank you," he replied at last with a smile in return. She nodded in acceptance and turned on her heels to walk away back in to the 'Staff Only' door, her hips swaying the whole time – and he watched her go. What? He was only a guy after all!

Now was the part where he had to work out what he was to say. I mean he didn't even understand why he was here in all honesty. The only knowledge he had was that this woman was something to do with a Spirit and somehow on the Xiaolin side, as far as he could tell. All Master Fung had told him was her name, her last known location and occupation and that the Moon and Sun were to be called upon – what did that even mean? It was obviously some sort of code name for some secret operation that he had no knowledge of...but it was all still very confusing.

Around twenty minutes later the cute redhead poked her head out of the Staff door, saw him and then pointed over to him. As he looked over noticing her, another head poked out to look over to him as well. This woman was older but not elderly, as she found him she narrowed her eyes, clearly not recognising him. He watched as they conversed at the door. The redhead shook her head and shrugged and the older woman sighed and just nodded in the end. She waved her hand in a good bye motion to the girl and began to walk over to Raimundo's table.

She was blonde and appeared to be in her late twenties, early thirties, with grey eyes. She was wearing a similar outfit to the other girl but where the redhead was wearing a pencil skirt, this woman was wearing a longer, gypsy style skirt.

Raimundo stood, trying to appear polite and held out his hand, "April?"

April accepted his hand and shook it but with caution in her eyes. As Raimundo gestured for her to sit, she asked slowly, "And, may I ask, who are you, my boy?"

"My name is Raimundo, I'm training to become a dragon at the Xiaolin Temple," at the mention of the temple, April's eyes opened wide.

"You have travelled from the temple in China?" she asked and sighed with a smile. She appeared to be more comfortable and less tense now, "You've travelled a long way just to find me, young Raimundo. I assume Master Fung is in need of my assistance?"

"You know Master Fung?" Raimundo asked.

"Who was it that sent you?" she asked with one eyebrow raised to show that she already knew who it was.

Raimundo laughed awkwardly and nodded, "Right," he then went on to explain, "The temple's been attacked and taken over by an enemy of ours and they captured all of the monks. It sounds bad already but Master Fung seems to thinks it's worse since they have hold of the new monk that just joined."

"I see. How awful," April nodded clearly keeping up, "Go on."

"I don't know the full story and all the details but all Master Fung said to me was 'Don't let, Spicer know who she is'. Spicer is the enemy in this case and 'she' is a girl called Rae with an element I didn't know anyone could own before," Raimundo explained as best he could.

"Right," the woman said slowly her eyes narrowed at the surface of the table between them. She was calculating things silently in her mind and Raimundo just wished that he could see in to her head just for now. If he could just make a little bit of sense out of all of this that would be enough for him to feel more in control with this crazy mission. April finally looked up, "This element of hers…is she training to be a dragon like you, Raimundo?"

"Erm, no. She just wanted to learn how to use it, as far as I'm aware," he shrugged.

"I see," she replied nodding, "Is that all?"

Raimundo shook his head, "No, the message I was sent to give you was '_Now is the time for you to call upon the Moon and Sun once again as –"_

April interrupted, finishing his sentence, _"-as evil rises and the children fall'._ Yes, I know this message well."

"Really?" Raimundo asked surprised and then asked, "Then do you care to explain it to me? Cause I have no idea what sort of thing I'm relaying here."

"Has Master Fung told you the tale of Chandra and Heru?" the woman asked her eyes fixed on his face to watch for his reaction. Raimundo only nodded and so she went on, "What about Ariel?" Raimundo slowly shook his head. April didn't look too pleased about that, to be honest. She grumbled glaring at the table, "Well, many don't see his importance to the story, I suppose. It's a pity that so many don't have the brain power to work out that he was the real hero in the tale."

"In all honesty, we weren't told _the tale_ of them, we were just told _about_ them," Raimundo pointed out with another shrug.

April sighed deeply, "Oh dear, Master Fung really has thrown you in to the deep end, hasn't he? I see that he was right to have faith in you – you did indeed find me – but to not explain everything to you was, well, stupid, in my opinion," April turned around just as the redhead reappeared at the Staff door, "Freya, be a dear and bring us two drinks please. I'm just catching up with the son of an old friend of mine. I guess, I just didn't recognise him at first."

"Oh, so that's who he is!" Freya giggled and then turned to go and retrieve the drinks, "Sure thing, April!"

April turned back to Raimundo and explained, "She'd only ask questions if I didn't say at least something. She'll keep quiet now…for a little while."

"So this tale?" Raimundo said, intrigued and wanting to know more – wanting to understand just what the hell was going on!

"Ah, yes," April sighed and began, "Listen carefully."

* * *

**Jack - **You're still not going to tell us the tale?

**Hazzard - **Mm, not yet :)

**Jack - **But I'm still not entirely sure what the deal is with everyone - and why wasn't I in this chapter?

**Hazzard - **You're still watching Stargate with Rae...I guess.

**Chase - **Where did I run off to again?

**Hazzard - **You're looking for the other oracles! Jesus, why don't you remember?

**Wuya - **Seriously! Where did I disappear to?

**Hazzard - **I DON'T CARE! YOU'RE READING CHILDREN'S DIARIES!

**Wuya -** -_-"

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey...it's been two or three weeks, right? ...yeah...sorry about that, friends.**

**Personal Update - My friends and I are thinking of creating our own series of Power Rangers which is both childish and fun! :') What can I say? We're big children ^_^ Only problem I have with this idea is that I am the pink power ranger - pink isn't my colour :p But I'm the only girl and the boys don't want pink so *rolls eyes* meh!**

**Story Update - It seems my writing pace is slowing down (as it is evident in how long this chapter took to upload) but don't give up on me, guys! I won't abandon this story! I like this one :D haha!**

**Note - Apologies for any spelling mistakes or grammar errors.**

* * *

***~The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 18 ~***

All in all I had been a Jack's for about a week now and for the last five days I have been allowed to roam around his house freely with the exceptions of the basement doors – and of course with the constant presence of at least two of his Jackbots. The days hadn't been so bad, I guess. I didn't really feel like the prisoner I was. The only bad thing about the past few days were the nightmares.

Every night I had woken up about three times or so, suffering from the same dream over and over again. I'd be lost or stuck in the same big house and then Jack would arrive and talk nonsense to me that I wouldn't understand and then he would scream at me and yell and melt away in to the demons that I command in my waking life. The dream haunted me so much that I hadn't even tried to practise with the shadows since I had been kidnapped.

Jack hadn't been home for two days either apparently working on some major project or something. He hadn't really told me what he was up to before he left all he had said as he rushed out the door was, "If you need anything while I'm away ask the Jackbots and they'll get it for you. I won't be long – only as long taking over China can be." But if he actually meant that or not…I wasn't entirely sure. I mean I could definitely see Jack trying but saying 'won't be long' made me sceptical. Surely taking over a country would be harder than a few days' work.

Still he hadn't returned yet…so maybe. Plus he had the Shen Gong Wu with him and Wuya had said…

Anyway, today all that had occurred so far was being woken by a night terror again, taking a shower to wash away all of the fear and sweat and eating a big fried breakfast prepared by a specially designed Jackbot, clearly built just for cooking. Then I had headed straight to the study and slumped down on the sofa staring at a blank TV screen thinking about the third day here – the day after Jack allowed me to roam around.

I had been shown to the kitchen which appeared brighter in the daytime than it had the night the monks and I had broken in and Jack showed the chef Jackbot to me. He told me that I could ask it to cook anything and it would be able to do it. So I had asked it to bake me a chocolate cake when I thought about the memory of my mother that I had remembered the day before. Of course it did just as Jack had said and baked a deliciously creamy chocolate cake that made me both sigh with happiness and shiver at the weird nostalgia of the memories. Luckily Jack hadn't noticed as he sat beside me and ate some cake as well. We talked about our favourite desserts and then dinners and snacks while we finished a little more than half of the cake. Then Jack asked if I liked video games. I did, so we went back to the study and played Call of Duty until I got fed up of constantly losing, so we played Minecraft instead for a while. Then Jack had told me that he needed to draw up some plans so he'd been in the basement for a bit. During this time I just flicked through TV channels until I fell asleep again and – of course – woke to another nightmare with Jack calming me down yet again.

As I sat on the sofa now thinking about it I realised I preferred someone to be there when I woke up from the horror. It was easier to confirm which state was reality when there someone there telling you everything was okay and that the dreams couldn't hurt you. With only the Jackbots being present these past two days I had tried to evade sleep but that's not easily done of course. I'm only human after all.

Sat in such deep thought that I was, I failed to notice the ghostly figure enter the room and silently float over to my side.

"So your name is Rachel in this life, huh?" the ghost lady asked.

I screamed and jumped away from the sudden voice. I fell off the couch and on to the floor and when I found her floating there, it finally registered what she had said. I glared at her as I rose up to standing.

"Don't do that and no, it's not," I grumbled and then after a moment I asked confused, "How do you even know that anyway?"

"So it is," Wuya smiled widely and then told me, "I knew you in a past life, Rachel."

"Stop calling me that!" I snapped angrily at her.

"Oh, and what should I call you then?" she asked and flew a little closer.

I stepped away and grumbled back, "My name's Rae…just Rae."

"Okay, Rae," she replied with a small smirk that irritated me for some reason, "Do you remember any of your other lives?"

"I didn't even know I'd been alive before," I replied crossing my arms and still glaring at her, "No, I don't remember anything about Chandra and Heru or any of the others we were."

"Ah, but you know of them?" Wuya asked.

"Only because I was told about them, Wuya," I remembered her name from the night I had first met Jack. She was there too.

"I see," she nodded in her ghostly form but the smile was still in place, "I knew you when you were called Luna."

"Luna?" I asked intrigued to learn about another past life.

"Yes, Luna Jalali, you were a witch again," she told me and I interrupted surprised.

"Again?"

"So you really don't know much about Chandra at all, do you?" Wuya asked and now she was intrigued while I was growing more and more curious about these people who I once lived as. Wuya cackled softly under her breath before explaining, "Chandra was a witch. It was the only way she knew how to gain a little more control over her powers. Though Ariel was always with her to help out."

"Ariel? I thought it was Heru who helped her?" I asked growing all the more confused.

"So you weren't even told about Ariel?" Wuya exploded in to laughter, "Well then, allow me to explain. Ariel was Chandra's childhood friend and brother although not related but they had no one else, only each other. Their mothers had left them and their fathers were either at war or dead."

I sat down on the couch again still listening intently to everything she was telling me and drawing up a picture in my head.

She continued, "As they grew up and their powers grew stronger, while Ariel remained balanced as always, Chandra struggled as always. One year they came across a woman who had similar powers although she had manifested it over years of meditation like I had. It was not the same as being born with it like you. Still Chandra trained under the old woman while Ariel watched. He didn't possess the desire to learn how his powers worked or how to control his powers but he stayed for her.

"Chandra was a witch like me and so was Luna," the ghost lady finished.

"Did you know Chandra?" I asked in awe.

Wuya laughed, "Dear god, no! That was years before I was around."

"Oh. But what was Luna like then?" I asked quickly changing the question to learn more about these other lives of mine.

"Luna was an introvert although not a push over or a weakling. She was just cold and quiet. She had grown up all alone so she had learnt how to fend for herself and had become independent. I guess her ability to appear unemotional helped during our training. She managed to endure all of the blood, sweat and tears of the practices without uttering a single sound," Wuya shrugged her pale transparent arms.

"You trained with her?" I repeated.

"I was her master, she was my apprentice," Wuya told me and my eyes widened.

"Really? You?" I asked incredulously.

"What do you mean '_you'_? Of course me! Why not me?" Wuya cried, clearly insulted.

"Err, I just…well…I just can't imagine taking orders or completing tasks for you?" I shrugged.

She stared at me with a serious expression and answered as if remembering, "You didn't always. You were difficult at times."

"Luna," I corrected, "Not me."

"Yes Luna," she nodded and flew over to the door, "But yes you also. You are one in the same, Rachel."

I glared at Wuya and was about to yell at her when a high pitched scream sounded through the house, stunning us both in to silence.

* * *

**Jack - **You left it on a cliffhanger? It's not even that long of a chapter! You're not gonna leave it on a cliffhanger for another few weeks are you?

**Hazzard - **...err...

**Jack - **How can you do this? How could you?

**Hazzard - **Hey! I didn't say anything! It all depends on if I am motivated enough in the end and if I have enough time. I do have a life, Jack, I'm busy at times :p

**Jack - ** You have a life?

**Hazzard - **I can dream, can't I?

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19 is here! This chapter is a little dramatic as well but its got some humour at the end and a bit of fluff too :) So hoping you guys enjoy that sort of thing ;)**

**Thanks to Fellow Digitamer and xxx-benedictbrothersfan-xxx for the reviews on the last chapter ^_^ Thank you for the kind words Fellow Digitamer, I'm really glad that you're enjoying the story so far and thank you for reading and xxx-benedictbrothersfan-xxx the scream _was _originally Jack but after the idea explosion a few chapters back it changed ^_^ ahaha :)**

**Anyways, on with the story yes? ;)**

**Enjoy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!**

Note - Apologies for any spelling mistakes or grammar errors! :)

* * *

***~ The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 19 ~***

The anger was instantly replaced with fear as the scream rang through the house and resounded in my mind over and over. Frozen for more than a second my eyes finally flickered to Wuya's face to find that she was staring back at me but not in fear. Her stare was more cautious – she knew something that I didn't.

I dashed for the door and ran out in to the hall, the Jackbots and Wuya immediately on my tail.

"Stay here, child!" Wuya cried from behind me, "It's probably just Jack returning home."

"That was not Jack!" I shouted over my shoulder as I turned the hall and basically jumped down the stairs to the second floor, "That was a girl's scream!"

"Yes and Jack screams like a girl!" Wuya growled in irritation as she came speeding up beside me, "Just calm down! There's nothing to worry about!"

Coming to another corner I turned and ran straight through the ghost witch continuing down the grand staircase to the ground floor of the house. I stopped in the hallway and looked around.

"Hello?" I called out when I found no one.

I was met with silence but then I noticed that the basement door to right of the staircase was wide open. Jack had told me not to enter either of the doors but if I couldn't find him, he would most likely be in the left side door…so then why was the right side door open when he was away?

I slowly stepped towards it and peered in to the dark doorway. I followed the line of stairs descending in to darkness and after a moment of nothing called out again, "Is someone down there? Are you okay?"

Wuya suddenly flew through the wall and in to my line of sight making me jump with a scream.

"Really now, Rachel, I think you should go back to the study," Wuya suggested sternly.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I yelled at her, "Don't just appear in front of me like that! Are you insane? Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Didn't you hear that scream just now? And my name isn't Rachel! It's Rae!"

The ghost lady rolled her eyes at me and shook her head, she then snapped at me before I could carry on shouting at her, "Yes, yes! Rae! Whatever! Just back to the study, now!"

"I'm not Luna – I don't take orders from you," I reminded her with a glare and to prove that point, I pulled on the cord on the inside of the door to turn on the basement lights. Once the room below lit up, I ventured down confidently with Wuya grumbling behind me.

My pace slowed from confusion as I neared the bottom of the steps. The room was larger than I expected and it held two rows with about five cage-like cells each side, a desk with a computer at the end of the rows and what looked like a rather large generator in the far right corner. But why were there cages? And why was the door open? And who was the scream?

My eyes widened as everything clicked in to place.

"Kimiko!" I gasped and ran back up the stairs.

"Rae, wait!" Wuya cried flying after me still.

As I ran back in to hallway and dashed up the stairs and all the way to the third floor, I thought about the conclusion my mind had conjured and it fit the situation.

Jack didn't want me in the basement because my monk friends were being held down there. They were being held in the cages and the scream was definitely Kimiko. Wuya didn't want me to search for the scream because she feared I would work it out or see them. Now, the only reason why I could have heard her was because they were not in the basement when she yelled out and that could only mean they were either free or being transported elsewhere.

I finally stopped at the large opening in the side of the house – the door for the Jackbots to enter in and out of…and I saw three Jackbots carrying three bodies in the sky not too far away.

"Kimiko! Omi! Clay!" I screamed out to them.

"Rae, are you safe?" Kimiko yelled back.

"Jackbots shut the door!" Wuya snapped the order and the Jackbots began moving but they wouldn't press the switch with me in the way. Jack had told them all to look after me – without letting me leave the household grounds, that is.

"I'm fine!" I cried, grabbing hold of the walls edge and leaning out of the opening as if it would make a difference to the distance between us, "Where are they taking you?"

"We don't know!" Clay called back.

"You!" Wuya pointed at one specific Jackbot, "Move her away from the opening!"

"I am fine, thank you for asking!" Omi called back sarcastically and despite the situation I smiled. If the kid who doesn't understand sarcasm at the best of times has enough spirit to use it against me then that must mean they're in good enough shape.

"That's great to hear, Omi!" I shouted back ignoring the fact that it was a sarcastic comment.

He shouted something back but I couldn't quite hear now. Their voices were being carried away with the wind and the ever growing distance.

"What?" I cried out and I felt my heart drop that I was losing them again, "Wait a minute! Come back! What?"

Then the Jackbot grabbed hold of my wrist and began to pull me back away from the edge. I struggled and tried to pull out of its grip, "No! Get off! I can't hear them! Wait a minute!"

I lifted my leg and with as much force as I could muster I kicked the Jackbot and the thing's arms broke off as I pushed its mainframe back. The grip on my wrist went limp and before I could steady myself, I misplaced my footing over the edge of the door and began to fall.

I gasped as the wind deafened my ears and carried my hair up clouding my vision. My limbs spread out around me trying to find something to grab on to as a terrified scream erupted from my mouth.

"Rae?" I heard the voice not far away.

"Jack!" I called out to him and then something caught me.

Gravity pulled my hair down out of my eyes and I saw Jack watching in wonder from ten feet away. Confused as to what had caught me I looked down and saw my shadows slowly lowering me to the ground. Only now six foot in the air, I gasped again this time in surprise and – I guess I pulled them back subconsciously – the shadows dispersed and I landed on the ground with a lame thud.

"Ow," I mumbled rubbing my back which I had landed on.

I heard the small chopper blades of Jack's helipack approach and then stop, "Are you okay?"

I looked up to find Jack looking down at me with a worried expression and a hand extended in offering. I looked at the hand for a second before accepting the help off of the ground and groaned when my muscled complained.

"How did you fall out of the Jackbot's door?" he asked me looking up at the giant opening that was around three stories up and was now closed.

That's when the fact about the monks sprang to the forefront of my mind. I simply stated without emotion, "You lied to me," he stared back at me in a hurt, confused way so I explained, "I saw them, Jack. My friends, being carried away. You told me they weren't here. But they were underneath us all week."

His expression became irritated instead of hurt now and he sighed in frustration, "Actually when you asked if they were here I didn't say 'no' I said 'not quite'."

He turned and walked away from me heading back to the house. I followed annoyed, "That's not a 'yes' though is it! To me that more of a 'they're somewhere nearby'!"

"Well obviously we shared a misunderstanding, but I really don't know why you seem so upset by this. They're all okay, aren't they?" he grumbled opening the kitchen door and walking in to the house.

I walked in and shut the door behind me, "You don't understand how I could be upset with the fact that my friends were locked up in cages underneath the house that I've been living in for the past week?"

He stopped in the doorway of the kitchen and hallway and turned back to glare at me, "You went in to the basement?"

I glared back at him, "There was a scream and the door was open. As if I could just carry on with my day after that."

He stormed up to my face and angrily hissed, "I told you not to go down there!"

I snapped back, "So I wouldn't find my friends locked up like animals? I know!"

His nostrils flared but I was angry now as well and I didn't care. Wuya entered the room through the ceiling as we continued to glare at each other.

"Hm, Jack, you're not usually this colourful unless you're shrieking and running away from the enemy like a little sissy girl," she commented with a giggle.

Jack's eyes snapped over to her and then flicked back to me for a second before he turned his back on us both and stormed out of the room, grumbling, "I'm taking a shower."

Wuya looked over to me and smirked as she said, "I _did_ tell you to go back to the study, Rae."

I shot her a glare and growled with aggression, "Piss off, witch!" and a glass on the sideboard next to me smashed in to pieces.

As I walked out of the room not bothering with the broken glass – I knew one of the Jackbots would take care of it anyway – I heard Wuya mumble to herself, "Charming."

I retreated to the windowless bedroom of mine and plopped down on to the bed staring up at the ceiling angrily. I watched as my shadows danced and jumped around above me clearly feeding on the emotions running through my system at the moment.

_Calm_…I told myself inwardly, _calm down, Rae._

I closed my eyes and took in a few deep breaths and felt the anger slowly evaporate in to a dull annoyance, treading at the back of my mind. Sighing heavily, I opened my eyes again and sat up.

"I need to leave," I whispered to myself and stood up.

I made my way over to the door and quietly opened it peeking out in to the corridor. There were Jackbots at the end of the hall and luckily for me they were facing the other way. I soundlessly exited the room and, not bothering to close the door and possibly give away my location, turned down the hallway in the opposite direction quickly tip-toeing away.

I quietly made it to the first stairwell and then on to the second floor but as I turned the corner here my mission failed as I crashed in to an unexpecting Jack and knocked us both back. Unfortunately I lost my balance and fell landing with another thud.

"Ah, Jesus, I'm definitely gonna have bruises in the morning," I mumbled rubbing my back again as I sat up.

"What are you doing walking around without my Jackbots?" When I looked up to lock eyes with the still slightly irritated red head, my cheeks exploded in to a blush and I averted my eyes quickly. The boy was wrapped up in nothing but a towel, only around his waist with his hair still dripping from the shower.

"Err, I, err," _Oh my god! He's just naked, Rae! Speak!_ But the fact that he was wearing nothing had quite simply frazzled my brain cells. It's not that I liked him or thought he was hot or anything – dear, god, no – but he was a boy…and he was naked…in front of me and for some reason my brain couldn't quite comprehend this situation.

My eyes flickered back up to his face for a moment and I saw that he was smirking now which annoyed me all over again but now for a completely different reason, "Ah, would you just put some clothes on already!" I cried in frustration.

He chuckled softly and replied, "Why? Something wrong? Don't like what you see? Or maybe it's that you _do_ like what you see, eh?"

"You wish, Spicer," I grumbled standing up and brushing the nearly non-existent dust off of my legs, "Please just put something on."

Then my eyes caught something different and my gaze fell back on to his face. There it was. A slight discolouration around his right eye seemed to have crawled halfway down his right cheek in the space of half an hour. That can't be right – where had that bruise come from?

Without thinking I closed the distance between us and tentatively reached up. First confused with my actions, Jack's eyes suddenly widened realising where my hand was heading and took a step back turning his face away, hiding the disfigurement from my view.

I stopped and lowered my hand asking with concern, "What happened?" He didn't answer me, didn't even look at me and I realised then it was because I already knew the answer. I sighed and said, "The monks," I paused feeling the anger subside completely now, replaced with guilt. I asked him, "Was that from night I helped them?"

Another moment of silence passed between and I watched as he let his head hang low.

"I'm sorry," I whispered averting my gaze in shame.

I hadn't thrown any punches that night but I hadn't exactly helped him either and although I had been told he was the enemy, even then I didn't think the guy deserved to be beaten in such a way. I recalled asking Rai if Jack was alright the same night after the ambush and the guilt I felt then when he hadn't answered my question properly.

I stole a peek at his face again wondering what his reaction would be and I found him staring back at me in shock not bothering to hide the black eye and all its bruising.

"You're sorry?" he asked.

I nodded slowly and replied, "Yes, really, I am."

Just when I thought he would walk away he stepped forward and pulled me in to a hug. After a brief moment of surprise I put my arms around me as well and patted him on the back awkwardly. But he didn't seem to notice the awkwardness of the action and said with crack in his voice, "I forgive you."

After moment of silence and more awkward hugging I asked, "Jack, are you crying?"

"No!" he cried and jumped out of the hug, turning away.

I smiled slightly, knowing better than to believe him with his wavering voice and shaky shoulders.

"Jack, do you wanna watch Stargate with me after you get dressed?" I offered as a suggestion, completely abandoning my earlier goal of getting free.

He smiled at me with teary eyes and nodded, "Sure."

I guess with all the movement the damn thing loosened and…the towel fell to the ground around his ankles. Three seconds of silence passed as me and Jack locked wide-eyed gazes. My mind deafeningly screaming _DON'T LOOK DOWN! DON'T LOOK DOWN!_ And his mind probably screaming '_SHE CAN SEE EVERYTHING! OH GOD!'_

Regaining our ability to function I swiftly turned my back on him as he dived down to retrieve the towel.

"I didn't see anything, I swear!" I cried becoming all flustered.

"No, it's okay! Err! It's fine! Um, err! No worries! Nothing wrong! All good," he stumbled over his words as he covered himself again, "So Stargate yes?"

"Yeah," I replied awkwardly.

He sounded just as panicked, "How about you, err, you go set it up for us?"

"Um, yeah, sure," I agreed.

I waited for him to go back in to the bathroom door which he had exited from when I crashed in to him earlier. But then his face appeared beside mine and disappeared again and before I could even register what had happened I heard the bathroom door closing behind him.

I turned to look at the door as my hand absent-mindedly touched my cheek. The ferocious blush was most likely stained on my face now after he had just planted a soft peck on the tingling skin that my hand was just now covered.

* * *

**Jack -** ***Blushing* **Did she really not see anything?

**Hazzard - **She really didn't see anything

**Jack - **Phew! :'o

**Hazzard - **BUT I DID! X'D

**Jack - **o.O ...NOOOOOO! D;

**Remember to Read and Review ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	20. Chapter 20

**Thanks again to xxx-benedictbrothersfan-xxx for the review, buddy ;) - I'm hoping the OMG was a good reaction...right? :D *hopeful face***

**I have started uploading some drawings of characters such as Rae, Chandra, Rae's father but the images ****aren't in great quality because I don't own a scanner at this moment in time, so I have to upload every picture from cameras and mobile cameras (apologies, apologies) ^_^ If you wanna know the appearances of the characters mentioned (there will be more images of other characters soon) then you can find a link to my deviantart account on my profile and find the characters in my galleries ^_^ Mwah!**

**Enjoy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!**

* * *

***~ The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 20 ~***

We had been sat on opposite sides of the couch all evening, with me curled up on the left hugging my legs to my chest and Jack lounging comfortably on the right with his arm over the back of the couch and his legs straight in front crossed at the ankles. The television was playing an episode of American Dad which I wasn't really paying attention to anymore. Instead I was staring at the shadow that the television set and a stack of DVDs was casting on the floor beside them.

I hadn't been practising for a while now and I was beginning to wonder if I could have made any significant progress I had otherwise. So I had been sat here ignoring the television ever since we got bored of Stargate and slowly messing with the shadows on the floor. Pulling this edge and then pushing that side, manipulating the shape just like clay – being only a little bit more difficult to mould.

I decided to try pulling it towards me like I had done with the tree and slowly it crawled along the floor in my direction.

Jack tapped my arm and pointed to the T.V screen and laughed making me jump, "Hey, this bit is funny!"

Due to the surprise I lost the connection with the shadow and it snapped back to where it was originally and also knocked over the DVDs beside the television as well. Jack's eyes looked over to them confused as I got up to put them back mumbling, "Sorry."

"Huh?" then I guess he realised as he asked sounding amazed, "You did that? What with your mind?"

"With the shadows, yeah," I shrugged as I stacked the DVD cases on top of each other quickly. I got up and resumed my position on the sofa, "I was just playing around with them and you just kinda made me jump."

There was a brief pause before he began his suggestion. "You said that you ran away from home because you needed help with this control over the dark," he threw me a look asking if he was correct. I nodded. He then sat up and I could feel the excitement radiating off of him, "I could help you. I could help you practise."

My eyebrows arched upwards with flashback from the past and I shook my head, "No, that's alright."

"What? Why?" I could even feel the disappointment now too, "You let the Xiaolin losers help, why not me?"

"They're experienced with these kinds of things," I mumbled staring at my hands in my lap, "They have control over their own elements. They would understand me more."

"So just cause I can't make a tornado or create a rift in the Earth you think I'd be useless and no help at all?" he asked and he sounded annoyed – probably over the fact that I was favouring the monks help over his.

"No, that's not it, Jack," I replied and looked up at him and he saw the worry in my expression, "I've hurt people in the past. What if I were to hurt you?"

He stared back at me then no longer annoyed more like mulling it over in his head. He then sighed heavily and replied, "Okay, I guess," he leaned back against the couch admitting defeat and so I went back to watching the T.V and not exactly paying attention – that was until he spoke again, "You know, I think you're the first person to put me first. People usually have no problem using me as a punching bag."

"I can see that," I said glancing at the mostly make-up concealed bruise around his eye. He cleared his throat angling his face away in a weak attempt to try and hide it again with a half-hearted laugh.

After another short pause Jack asked with pleading eyes, like a child asking to take a peek at their Christmas presents before Christmas day, "Can I at least see what you can do?"

I searched his eyes for maybe an excuse not to have him present or maybe even remember something that I knew I could do without hurting anyone. Then I remembered last week in the temple fields. The tree. I had even thought about that five minutes ago when I had tried to draw in the shadow on the floor _like the tree!_

Maybe I could show him something like that. But what if it didn't work this time? Apparently the main reason why I had so much control and energy that night was because the Heru of today was there watching me from his hiding place…or maybe it was the Ariel of today like Wuya had told me.

I didn't know, either way, I was certain they weren't here now I couldn't feel their presence in any case. So it was likely that I wouldn't be able to hold as much control this time. Still, you never know unless you try, right?

I stood up and held my hand out to him, "Okay but I'll need the Tangle Web Comb."

Jack's face lit up as he took my hand.

* * *

She was sat against the shadowed wall like she had been all the while that Chase had been gone just like she had told him she would be. Sighing heavily she watched a few of the big cats stroll around glancing at her every now and then. Their stares were no longer hostile or hungry like they once were, as they were growing accustomed to her presence. Now the cats just looked bored.

The Oracle of the Moon then looked up at the object in the sky that she was named after and frowned for a moment, "What are you up to, child?" she whispered to herself.

After a short time, another figure walked in to the main entry hall of Chase's domain. A young man was entering the room stretching and yawning lazily. He glanced over to the woman in the darkened corner and asked, "Good evening, Miss Moon. Bit dark in here, isn't it?"

The oracle looked over to the blonde boy with unimpressed eyes as he threw a ball of light in to the air lighting up the room as if it were day again. He smirked over to her as she lifted the hood of her cloak over her head shadowing the top half of her face.

"I sit in the shadows for a reason, child," she mumbled casting her eyes away from him. His cockiness was irritating at the best of times – in every era.

He sniggered pushing his hands into his pockets and walked over to sit with her. As he folded his legs and sat down beside the older woman, he used his ability to put out the orb of light and let Chase's evil palace fall back in to darkness, only illuminated by the torches on the walls.

A short pause later and he asked, "Do you know where she is?"

The Moon smiled knowing full well who the boy was talking about, "Of course, I do."

"Would you tell me?" he asked impatiently, "I can't find her and Chase isn't around to find her for me."

She turned her bright eyes on him and saw the eagerness in his own glowing eyes. She said simply, the smile not faltering, "No."

"But," he frowned and then glared at her. He stood up and stormed away grumbling, "You have a real attitude problem, lady! I ask you for help and you reject me!" The oracle just laughed at the first comment finding it amusingly hypocritical. He stopped and turned back to her and asked, "Aren't you supposed to be my guardian or something?"

"Indeed, I am," she nodded still smirking and elaborated, "But the Moon is best suited for the Moon child," the oracle looked up at the moon again and told the boy quietly, "If you really want to find her you can. But you'll waste some of your spiritual energy trying to locate her on your own, leaving yourself vulnerable to attack…seeing as you get yourself in to trouble most of the time. You can always wait for Chase to return then he or the Sun can help you."

The boy groaned impatiently and made for the door, "You know what, I'll just behave myself. This place can be a real drag sometimes and there's nothing to do. I want to see her…and I'm pretty sure she wants to feel in control as much as I do."

"When you find her don't scare her," the oracle warned him closing her eyes with her face lifted in the light of the moon, "If you cause her any trouble, I will make your life difficult next time around."

The blonde only smirked and shrugged as he left, "Harsh, but fair, I guess."

* * *

**Jack - **Is that...?

**Hazzard -** Who you're thinking? Most likely.

**Jack - **But is it -?

**Hazzard - **Shut up!

**Jack -** But-?

**Hazzard - **WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT RUINING THE STORY, JACK? ***Gets out duct tape***

**Jack - **D':

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey chapter 21 is here~! ...and Hayley would like some feedback as I'm not sure if its just one or two people reading and actually enjoying at the moment ^_^" I'd just like a little something - that's all I'm asking. Just a quick 'Yeah, it's good' or 'Nah, improve it' just to let me know if the story is getting too slow for some or too boring at the moment or maybe it's confusing.**

**That's a good question actually! Is everyone following at the moment? Do we know what is going on? Maybe tell me in a review the things you don't understand so I can see if it's something I left out accidentally or something I left out on purpose :)**

**If you lovelies could do that for me that would be fantastic and I can either continue with the story or jazz it up a bit - by which, I mean just edit it to suit everyone's needs - more or less ^_^ aha!**

**Anyway! With that said,**

**Enjoy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

* * *

***~ The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 21 ~***

Gritting my teeth in anger I glared at the tree that was my target. My frustration was growing with every failed attempt to re-enact last week's main event – well, involving my abilities anyway. Every time I shot the teeth out of the Tangle Web Comb, they hit the tree only to come hurling back; sometimes ravelling around me and trapping me, or sometimes just receding back in to the comb itself without doing anything at all.

The two times that the teeth made contact and held together with the tree the shadows didn't coat the thing as a whole. They remained with the threads and only darkened the ring of strings that were bound around the bark.

I growled in anger as I watched my attack fail again.

Jack stood up from where he had been sitting on the grass at the side of the garden, with two of his Jackbots hovering either side of him.

"No," I snapped at him, "Stay there! I can do this!"

"But Rae –" he started but I interrupted glaring back at the tree again and lifting the Shen Gong Wu in determination.

"TANGLE WEB COMB!"

I heard Jack sigh as I watched the teeth shoot out of the handle coated in a dark gloomy mist and then snap around the tree trunk. A smile appeared on my face as the shadows started to crawl away from the comb threads spreading like a virus infecting and smothering the trees existence. But then I felt it inside – I felt the strain and pull as the shadows began to weaken and lose their hold. As quickly as it had appeared, the smile vanished again as the shadows fell back to the Wu's body and the teeth came flying back to capture me instead.

The impact knocked me off of my feet and when my back hit the ground the breath was knocked out of me and I was left winded on the grass. Jack came to my side and crouched down, leaning over me.

"Rae, you need to calm down," he told me.

"I can't…freaking breathe, Spicer…how am I…supposed to calm down?" I wheezed and squeezed my eyes shut, struggling on the bonds wrapped tightly around my body. The more I struggled the tighter they seemed to become and the more my brain began to panic making it harder to catch my breath.

"Rae, stop moving," he told me but I continued anyway out of instinct…then he put a hand on my cheek and in the softest tone I had ever heard him use said, "I promise, you're alright you just need to stop moving and calm down."

My angry and panicking irrational mind snapped in to focus and I was able to listen to his advice and follow his instructions as he continued to mumble and comfort me, like you would a scared child. I stopped struggling and lay there focusing only on the feel of his thumb running along my cheek bone in order to calm myself and catch my breath again.

Slowly the threads of the Tangle Web Comb unwound themselves and released me again. But only when Jack stopped stroking my cheek with his thumb did I open my eyes and look up at the moon in the sky.

"I swear I could do it," I mumbled, feeling the embarrassment of the failure flood in.

"You know, I thought what you were doing anyway was pretty cool," Jack shrugged and I guessed that he was trying to make me feel better, "I could see all the dark shapes moving around you."

I sighed heavily and pushed up from the ground gently pushing away his hand as well, while grumbling, "You don't have to lie to me, Jack. I'm obviously just weak."

"What?" he sounded confused.

"I could only do it the first time cause I had someone there with me," the embarrassment was making me feel quite awful now and so I turned away feeling a slight quiver of my lips as I tried to keep any tears from escaping.

"You mean the monks?" Jack asked.

I shook my head, "No," I paused as my voice cracked slightly. I cleared my throat, hiding the slip up and then explained when I was sure my voice was steady enough, "I was in the field by myself but I didn't know that there was someone else watching me from the forest at the side. I was able to control my powers because they were there, because they're my other half or something like that."

"I still don't…what do you mean by other half?" Jack asked.

I turned to face him again. He looked just as confused as he sounded, "Master Fung told me about this guy called Heru that I once knew and then Wuya told me about another guy that I once knew called Ariel. Somehow we're all connected and when we're together we can control the powers that we have."

"Well…why don't you call them?" Jack suggested and I smiled weakly at the idea because, although impossible, it was sweet but only because he didn't understand the circumstances.

"I can't call them, Jack, I don't know them this time around," I told him and then after seeing the confusion escalate even more on his face, I added, "Try to understand this – even I'm not entirely certain about it," I paused to take in a breath before I explained as best I could, "I have lived more than this one time and just like me so have Heru and Ariel. When I knew them I was called Chandra and I was a witch like Wuya, according to her. That was years ago though and I don't remember any life beyond me as Rae. I just know that one of them was there when I was practising last week."

"But…Kimiko said you were nineteen," Jack pointed out.

I chuckled softly and his funny little confused mind was actually easing my embarrassment a little. I corrected him smiling, "I _am_ nineteen, Jack. But I'm a reincarnation of whoever I was before."

"Oh…" was all he said for a moment and then by the slight understanding that crossed his face, I could tell that he knew what I meant but, like me, was having trouble believing it wholeheartedly. In the end he shrugged and said, "You know some religions believe that everyone is reincarnated when they die."

"Maybe everyone is," I nodded, remembering being taught that in an R.E. lesson once.

We stood there for a moment in an awkward silence, not particularly looking at the other but around at the surroundings. That's when my eyes fell back on the Tangle Web Comb on the floor and so I swooped down and picked it up.

I stared at the thing in my hands for a moment before I held it out to Jack and said, "Well, I don't think I'm going to be able to do this tonight, so I'll let you take it back now."

Jack took the Wu from my hands and looked it for a moment like I had; he then looked up at me and smiled, "You know what?" he held the Shen Gong Wu out in offering, "You seem to like this Wu, so you can keep it."

"Really?" I asked uncertainly.

"Sure, if you were going to use it against me you would have done it already," he chuckled softly probably not believing his words completely but hoping he was right.

I smiled brightly and accepted the gift, "Thank you."

He scratched the back of his head and threw me a cheesy grin, "Hey, no worries, Rae!"

I smiled again at the Wu in my hands and felt like I had won some trust with this present but then it crossed my mind.

_You could use the Tangle Web Comb now while he least expects it to escape._ But I internally hushed that voice because I didn't want to leave just yet. I mean it would be a stupid thing to do at the moment anyway! The temple was overrun with Jackbots and back home with Dad was out of the question so right now the only shelter I had was the Spicer residence. It was only logical to stay.

Jack drew my attention by clearing his throat loudly and then went on to say, "Um, Rae? Before you said you'd hurt people in the past…" the flashbacks caused me to flinch. He continued slowly, "How?"

I stared back at him blankly. I didn't want to think about that now. I didn't want to think about that ever! It was something that I tried my very best to forget, to repress, to erase every day. I wasn't the same as I was when those disasters occurred and I didn't want to ever revisit that side of me again.

"What happened?" Jack urged on.

I shook my head and close my eyes trying to push the horrific images to the back of my mind where I could lock them away never to be reawakened again, "Please," I kept shaking my head and reopened my eyes to look at Jack, "I'm tired. I'm gonna go to bed now."

"But –"

"Goodnight," I turned and hurriedly walked away back to the house.

"Rae!" Jack called.

He reached out to grab my arm and stop me but before he caught me, I turned back to face him and snapped spitefully, "I said goodnight!"

We stood there with his outstretched arm and my body leaning away from him, him staring back in confusion at my glaring watery eyes.

After a moment of contemplation he lowered his arm and stepped back, straightening up, "Goodnight, Rae."

The glare morphed in to a saddened expression of surprise before I nodded and continued in to the house without a sound.

He didn't seem to follow me or even come back inside the house to be honest, and I walked all the way to my bedroom in silence. When I was inside with the door shut behind me, I glanced over at myself in the mirror and saw that rivulets of tears had formed running down my cheeks and gathering at my chin. I used the back of my arms the wipe them away.

I didn't blame his curiosity – he's only human, after all – but why did he have to ask about those particular moments? About those memories? About those terrible tales from the past?

I got in to bed fully dressed (with all the nightmares lately it wasn't the best idea to sleep either nude or in my underwear – what with Jack always running to the rescue, it seemed) and stared up at the ceiling wishing I could see the moon through the roof.

I pushed the unwanted memories away and thought about my practise instead. What could I have been able to show Jack if Heru had been here. Or maybe it was Ariel…whoever it was, I just wished that they could have been there to help me gather my control and to help me feel relaxed for once. I was always so cautious so as not to get too scared or too angry just in case I did something that was out of my control in the end. Of course I still reacted to things but I had to keep my calm.

That's when I remembered panicking earlier…the shadows hadn't smashed anything or hurt Jack who, now that I could think about it, was sitting way too close to me and my unleashed darkness. I couldn't understand why the horrible little silhouettes hadn't attacked him while I was in such as state. Why hadn't they acted up like they normally do?

"Chandra, why couldn't you have left me anything?" I grumbled out loud.

If she was the most powerful out of all of us, and with both Ariel and Heru by her side too, then surely she would have known that someone was to come after her. Surely she would have known that when she died, she would be reborn again. Why hadn't she written any rules or helpful tips for the next wielder of darkness? Master Fung had said she was still good at using her powers alone but Wuya had said that she also struggled…whatever the truth, if ever she felt weak at one point in her life, did she never think that help would have been a nice and convenient gift?

I sighed. The only people who could help me with my powers and control at this moment in time was the Heru of today and the Ariel of today. But how was I supposed to find them?

* * *

**Again sorry for any spelling mistakes or grammar errors and FEEDBACK would be much appreciated. I really need to know if people are enjoying/still enjoying the story and its not becoming silly, boring, too slow...yada, yada, yada! Please review, my lovelies, and tell me what you're thinking - you can be honest with me :) I can take rejection (though it would be much appreciated if it was constructive criticism and not just blind rage, thanks).**

**Anyways, I'll be waiting for the feedback so I can get on with the story or change bits here and there if you guys have any problems at all ^_^**

**THANK YOU VERY MUCHLY~!**

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	22. Chapter 22

**This chapter took so long because for one week I waited for some feedback and thank you to the two who did that - much appreciation - and then the rest of the time was spent trying work out how to write this chapter. There are things I have to reveal and there are things that I can't reveal yet so I have to be careful otherwise I'll ruin the story :'S**

**I'm constantly drawing and adding to the deviantArt folder 'Fanfiction; The Darkness Inside'. I can't exactly draw some characters who I haven't introduced yet (though there is one picture currently on the site showing one of the not yet introduced males) but there are and will be more, drawings of Chandra, Heru and Ariel as they have a separate story to this fanfiction entirely.**

**Enjoy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!**

* * *

***~ The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 22 ~***

I awoke in a strange room and shot up to a sitting position. Where was I? It was all wooden flooring with a straw rug between my bed and the next, a cracked white wall with a small square window, three walls of wooden panels, one closed wooden door and a cracked white ceiling held up with multiple beams running vertically over head from one side of the room to the other. Light was streaming in through the window and although it looked warm outside, it was cold here in this room and I absent-mindedly pulled the blankets up to wrap around my shoulders.

A grumble and slight movement of sheets stole my attention and I turned to look at the next bed over. There I saw a young man with long straight brown hair and a long tanned face – and he was waking up.

Before I could work out what to do, his eyes opened and locked with mine. The vibrant green colour of them made me stop and stare. Then he smiled at me and stretched while greeting me, "Good morning, Chandra."

_What? _I thought but without any control over my body it responded on its own, and my voice sounded empty and hollow with the hint of an accent that wasn't mine, "Good morning, Ariel."

"Looks like it's going to be a nice day today," he mumbled glancing over at the window with a lazy smile as he sat up and leaned back against the headboard behind him.

Again without any control over myself - as if I was a puppet completely at the mercy of my puppeteer - my head turned to look out the window. I then watched as the shadows in the room swarmed together and the mass moved to cover the window and shroud the room in complete darkness. But unlike ever before, I didn't feel any fear. In fact, all I felt was this terrible ache inside.

As our eyes began to adjust to the new lighting, I heard a heavy sigh and even though I couldn't tell if it was my own body's doing I was sure that it came from beside me, from Ariel.

"Chandra, I know you're still upset," Ariel began and I could hear some ruffling and movement. Next thing I knew I could faintly see the outline of someone knelt beside me. One of his hands reached up and pulled my face to his. He kissed my forehead and then held my gaze and said, "But there was nothing we could have done to save her."

A burst of anger surged through me suddenly and I slapped him, catching him off guard and forcing him back, "Nothing we could have done? You could have done something! We could have gone back and you could have saved her!"

With our eyes now adjusted and the room fairly visible again, I could see Ariel on the floor rubbing his jaw and slowly rising from the ground, "Chandra, they burnt her alive. You really think she would have wanted to carry on as an almost unrecognisable half-life?" there was a pause and I looked away feeling a kind of shame wash over me now as well.

By this point I realised I wasn't Rae in this moment. I was witnessing and feeling everything as Chandra. I was a viewer, an audience member with a POV showing and it seemed to be a memory of my past life – a memory of Chandra and Ariel after an awful disastrous event. I just wasn't sure what had happened yet.

Ariel stood up only to sit back down on his bed and stare over at Chandra whilst still holding his hand to his swelling cheek, "Chandra, you saw what we did when we were children. We made monsters. If I had…Miss Terra would have just been another monster."

"We could have tried," her voice was just a desperate whisper.

Ariel's expression was pained as he seemed to feel sorry for my past self, like he wasn't entirely sure what to say. Instead he rose from the bed and sat beside Chandra, pulling her close and holding her as she cried silently.

I could feel how she felt in this moment, like she was drowning in all of the sorrow and sadness of this apparent death of a Miss Terra. But I could also feel the love and need she felt for her best friend and brother who was holding and comforting her now. There was another feeling I felt…even through the state at which she was in now…I could still feel how strong this woman was. I could still feel the amazing power and control that she had over her element and it felt incredibly easy, ridiculously so. It felt like she wasn't even trying, like she wasn't even thinking about it. It seemed to be as simple as breathing. I envied her strength but I couldn't feel jealousy right now all I could feel was what she felt. In this moment I was reliving a time in Chandra's life as Chandra herself.

"We should never have tried, Chandra," Ariel told her gently, sadness lacing his tone. He kissed the top of her head again and added, "Those animals didn't deserve what we did to them…what I did to them."

I felt her heart strings being pulled at the fact that Ariel was ashamed with himself because of something they had done in the past concerning some sort of animal, but being so wrapped up in her own misery she remained silent.

After a short pause Ariel spoke again and tightened his hold on her as if to give more meaning to his words, "You're not alone, Moon child."

_"I_ am not alone, no," Chandra agreed but then sighed deeply with a shaky breath and added harshly, "But together, Moon and Spirit…_we_ are alone."

They both knew she was right and neither of them had any more to say. They stayed that way for a while, holding on to the other trying to break each other's misery and their own. But it would be a long time before those wounds healed it seemed.

* * *

My eyes snapped open and I looked up to see a white plastered ceiling. I sat up and looked around and then sighed with relief. I was back in my bedroom at Jack's house. I lifted my hands, trying to confirm that I really was back, and then looked over to the mirror and saw myself, Rae, staring back at me. I smiled...and then stopped to wonder about the dream.

Was it just a dream? Or was it really a memory? But it felt too real, the emotions too raw and fresh in my mind to be something that I had conjured up while I was sleeping – it had to be a vision of the past.

Then why was Chandra so upset? Clearly it was because of this Miss Terra person but how and why had she died? What did they mean by Ariel could have saved her? What were the monsters and animals they referred to? What had Ariel done to them that made him feel so ashamed? This was the only insight I had ever had in to the past lives – or at least the only one I had recognised – and I still had almost nothing to go on.

But at least I knew what Ariel looked like now. I could still see his beautiful bright green eyes staring back in to mine. His brown hair hanging down around his head heavy and straight, falling past his shoulders. I could see his long face and his eyebrows arched in a somewhat saddened state and that easy smile that he wore at the beginning of the memory when he woke up.

I wondered if he still looked like that now, either way I would keep my eyes peeled from now on.

Just then a knock at the door surprised me and broke my train of thought. It was a quiet and considerate knock, maybe in case I was still sleeping. I got up and walked over to open it, but not without a yawn.

The door opened and I saw Jack standing there already dressed and made up – with his almost invisible black eye as well – holding a plate with pancakes piled up and drizzled with some kind of syrup.

"Good morning, newbie!" he smirked.

I rolled my eyes at the silly nickname he used but smiled all the same, "Morning, bad guy."

"Okay you're right, normal names because 'bad guy' is not particularly amazing, doesn't have any ring to it, y'know?" he chuckled and so did I.

"Well, why don't we think of new nicknames for each other then?" I suggested smiling.

He thought about it and then smiled again and nodded, "Sounds like a fun idea. Anyway," he held the plate out with a fork in the other hand, "I hope you like pancakes for breakfast."

"Thank you," I said accepting the morning gift and retreated in to the room to have somewhere to sit down. Jack followed and sat down beside me on the bed.

"Any nightmares this morning?" he asked.

I shook my head and told him, "No, no nightmares but I did dream something amazing. I dreamt about the past. I remembered something from _before_."

"Oh, you mean as, err, Chandra?" he asked uncertainly.

"I know it sounds crazy but…yes," I confessed and paused my actions to watch his reaction.

He stared back at me but he couldn't keep a straight face and his eyebrows arched upwards showing his disbelief, "Are you sure?"

"Well, yeah, I think," I replied feeling uncertain now myself, "It felt so vivid and emotional. Someone had died and Chandra was really upset. She was with Ariel and he was trying to comfort her but she was angry with him as well…but not completely. She still loved him, I could feel it. I could feel everything she felt," my eyes dropped and wandered to the side as I remembered the terrible heart wrenching ache that she was going through, "She felt awful."

"Were Chandra and Ariel a thing?" he asked tilting his head in question.

I looked back at him and smiled half-heartedly at the silly boy before me. I asked, "Is that all you heard me say?"

"Err, no! I heard the whole thing," he cried defensively and then shrugged, "I was just wondering."

I smiled at him still and then replied honestly shaking my head, "I don't know. But they were close."

I kept my eyes on him watching his reaction and reading his face to try and gain an insight in to what he was thinking. I could see the doubt clearly written on his face but then he smiled. With this little sign, I realised that he wanted to believe me but he was also trying to think logically and realistically about the situation. I understood his uncertainty completely and the fact that he was willing to at least listen, was good enough for me. I returned the smile.

Suddenly a hoarse voice sounded from the other side of the room, taking both Jack and I by surprise, "I really don't care if I'm interrupting a moment between you two but I have news."

"A moment?" Jack repeated just before I could.

"I'm sorry were you having a telepathic conversation?" Wuya asked when neither of us replied she rolled her eyes at us, "I didn't think so. Now, Chase has contacted us and asks that you assist him in finding a certain person that goes by the name of April Mackenzie, last known location being in Scotland. Another alias of hers is the Oracle of the Spirit."

"Spirit?" I asked, remembering Chandra saying that the Moon and Spirit were alone. Now Ariel called Chandra the Moon Child so that could only mean that Ariel was the Spirit child. My eyes widened, "As in the Spirit child?"

Wuya looked at me with suspicious narrowed eyes, "I thought that Master Fung hadn't told you the full details."

"He didn't, I just...how much do you know about me? I mean, me as Chandra? I mean, how much do you know about Chandra?" I asked.

She took a moment before she answered me, "A fair amount," she said carefully.

"Who was Miss Terra?" I asked and watched as her eyes widened. She was clearly confused and surprised as to how I had acquired the name, so I quickly added, "I promise, I didn't find this out from Master Fung."

"I'm sure you didn't," she muttered and then began to answer my question, "I don't quite know how you found out about her but Terra was the witch that Chandra practised under."

"How did she die?" I asked quickly.

"Child, why are you asking these questions?" Wuya asked.

I shrugged and shook my head, "I've remembered a few little details, I guess, I just need some answers. I know it was a fire, but how did Terra die?"

Wuya looked a little uncomfortable with the fact that I knew things about my past lives and it just made me all the more curious, "The war had been getting closer and closer to the house in which they lived together. Ariel asked that they leave to find somewhere safer and further from the fighting. But Terra had lived in the same cottage her entire life and didn't want to leave. Chandra being so loyal to her teacher also decided to stay until the soldiers set the house on fire. Ariel got Chandra out of there before they were trapped but Terra was not so lucky and they burnt her with the house."

I was quiet for a time, letting that sink in and remembering how Chandra felt. It must have been true, it sounded believable and with the heartache that she was going through in the memory, the scenario seemed to fit.

"What was Ariel's power?" I asked next, moving on from Miss Terra's death - though still wondering why Chandra thought that Ariel could have saved her.

"The Moon child can command darkness," Wuya told me which I had already gathered and then she added Heru's title which now, I knew, seemed quite obvious, "The Sun child can command light."

"And the Spirit child?" I pushed.

"Can give and take away life," Wuya answered me and there was a pause as it all seemed to just click together, like a puzzle - or at least part of the puzzle.

I now understood that the monsters Ariel spoke of were zombies or something of the same nature. They seemed to have found animals either alive or dead and Ariel had played around with them when they were both children. He didn't want to give Terra her life again because of the pain she would be in from the burns and also the fact that she would be massively disfigured and most likely disabled to some extent.

Wuya then decided to add after a moment's thought, "After death Ariel could resurrect beings but they wouldn't be technically alive anymore or at least their bodies wouldn't work at the same rate as before. They referred to them as -"

"Half lives," I finished for her, remembering that term too.

"Yes," Wuya said slowly. She then flew right up to my face, "And you just...seemed to remember this, did you?"

"Well...I dreamt about it," I told her.

"Strange," she mumbled and then told me, "The Sun child often remembers things - little things, insignificant things. But the Moon child has never remembered anything before. And before you asked, the Spirit child is never around long enough for anyone to find out much about them. No one knows."

"Oh," I nodded and then looked down at the pancakes still on the plate. I decided to dig in again while I sank in to a deep session of thinking, while Jack looked quite amazed and frankly a little scared as if I had just baffled him with the most mind boggling magic trick ever. All the while Wuya was floating beside us, scrutinising me probably wondering what kind of crazy Moon child I really was - as apparently my kind were usually the one's with the past-life-amnesia.

"Um...so this April?" Jack finally asked after a he gathered his thoughts again and decided to get started with Wuya's earlier task, "What was the surname again?"

Wuya turned to him, "Mackenzie. Scotland."

"Anywhere in particular? Scotland is big place, y'know?" Jack reminded Wuya rising from the bed and beginning to leave the room. Probably heading to the computer to begin his search.

"That is what you have to find out, Jack!" Wuya snapped following him out.

I stayed in the room to finish my breakfast and try to remember every little detail of the dream and memory. I remembered the sorrow, Ariel's face, the bond between them and I would now also keep in mind what Wuya had just told me as well. That I have never remembered the past until now and Heru has always remembered things however small they were. As for Ariel, no ones knows. So it was possible that Ariel remembered things like maybe my face or Heru's or maybe he was the same as me and didn't remember a thing.

I still wonder who was watching me in the field...

* * *

**Apologies for any spellings mistakes or grammar errors. If you have questions review or PM me and if these are questions that will not be answered within the story, I shall explain to you all that I can :)**

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	23. Chapter 23

**So it seems its time for Rae to say hello to someone new ;) heh! This chapter is just something cute for the characters and also some way to acquaint characters with each other ^_^" If that makes sense. If it does then I have just revealed a little spoiler in the authors note which I probably should have written in the note after the chapter...Goddammit, Hayley!**

**Anyway :)**

**Enjoy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!**

* * *

***~ The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 23 ~***

"Really? Are you sure? I don't want to be taking liberties here," I asked Jack and he smiled with a shrug.

We were in a big shopping mall and Jack was letting me buy new clothes since I mentioned wanting to dress in my own stuff after he finished his five day search of the mysterious Oracle of the Spirit. Instead of going back to the temple and retrieving the seven or eight outfits I packed in my suitcase from home, he had taken me shopping and so far we had bought a whole wardrobe full of things just for me. My room was also being moved to one of the other rooms which was bigger, with an actual wardrobe to put all of this stuff in and it actually had windows!

I hadn't remembered anything else from Chandra's life and the nightmares had returned for the past few nights causing me to wake up screaming again. On all occasions I had woken in a panic to find Jack beside me telling me it was all okay and that he was here with me.

Wuya and I had spoken more about Chandra and Ariel and bits about Heru - generally about what I had dreamt of. She also told me that people weren't supposed to remind the Moon child of Miss Terra's name anymore because it had evoked dark feelings at times. That was the reason she was surprised that I knew the name and also why she knew Master Fung wouldn't have told me. Of course I didn't understand what she meant by dark feelings but she wouldn't go in detail about it in case I was still capable of remembering said feelings. I didn't know what would happen if I did, so I just shrugged and changed the subject back to Ariel again.

So now walking through the mall together holding shopping bags full of clothes and shoes - and believe me this was probably the girliest I had ever been in my entire life - I turned to Jack wondering if this was all okay.

"You're not taking liberties, Rae, I said whatever you want, didn't I?" he pointed out and then nudged my shoulder with his, "I can afford it, my parents are rich and so much that they really don't care what I do with the money as long as I don't go off and buy something that costs their annual salary or go gambling. It's fine."

"We're not nearing their annual salary are we?" I asked with slight worry on my face.

Jack laughed and shook his head, "Not even a little. C'mon, what else are we getting?"

"Um, I can't we think of anything else-Oh! Look at that necklace!" I cried and ran up to the window of the jewellers that we were just about to pass. Jack chuckled as he followed me. In the window, amongst all the other pretty things, was a necklace made with black and silver metal. The chain was long and black and the key piece that hung from it was a silver moon attached to a black sun.

"Do you want it?" Jack asked and I turned to see if he meant it. He looked back at me with sincerity and then arched his eyebrows upward in question.

"Really?" I asked again.

He smiled and turned towards the door, "Wait here, I'll be back in a moment."

"Oh, okay," I nodded and watched him enter the shop. As I watched him through the glass go up to the woman behind the counter and point to the window that I was stood by, I realised that he had left me out here all alone. It was just us today, no Jackbots and nothing to stop me from running away. But again, before I could even give the order to my legs to start running, that reasonable voice was louder than the panicking one and it said that Jack's house was the only shelter I currently had - and besides all of these nice things would go to waste if I was just gonna run off all of a sudden.

I smiled knowing that we were at least friends even if I was still a kind of a half-prisoner of sorts.

I watched the woman walked away from the counter and go in to the back room marked 'Staff Only' and Jack turned around to wave at me. I waved back making him smile before the woman came back out and grabbed his attention again.

"Ooh, those are lovely earrings," I jumped at the sudden voice beside me. I turned to look at boy around four inches taller than me with unshaven stubble on his chin and messy blond hair. He had bright amber eyes, almost orange, and they were staring straight in to mine, "They'd look better on you though."

"Um, thank you?" I replied uncertainly, the atmosphere suddenly changed but I wasn't sure what was quite different about it yet. The way he was looking at me was slightly unnerving though, "Sorry, do I know you?"

"I apologise, I don't mean to stare," he replied in shy manner that, for some reason, seemed false. He looked back in to the window at all of the shimmering diamonds, silver and gold, "You _are_ very pretty though."

A deep red blush exploded on to my cheeks and I turned to look in the window as well, "Err, again, thanks."

There was a short pause as I watched Jack take a bag from the lady, say something and then turn to leave. I moved away from the window to meet him at the door and then the blonde boy said, "I've seen this necklace before - I know why you like it."

"Really?" I replied without any other emotion except confusion. The blonde boy turned around and leaned on the glass of the window with his hands in his pockets. I asked, "And why is that?"

"Oh, I can't be certain, but I would say the moon and the sun," he smirked and stared at me again and I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously. How he knew what intrigued me most about the necklace was a little chilling...and even more so when he mutter simply, emphasising a particular word, "Or maybe it's something to do with the _spirit _of the piece."

I was about to say something - I wasn't sure what, just something - when Jack exited the store and announced happily with a big smile, "Ta-dah! Happy birthday or Merry Christmas! Whatever comes first!"

I turned to him with a scared, uncertain look on my face and his smile dropped, "What?" I looked back and the blonde boy was gone...but I felt his presence still.

"Heru," I breathed.

"Rae, are you okay?" Jack asked, clearly worried by the expression on my face and by my silence, "Rae, what's wrong?"

"Um, nothing, nothing," I replied still looking around to see if I could find him anywhere, walking away or just standing around, "Just...just talking to strangers."

"Didn't your mum - err, I mean, didn't your dad ever tell you not to speak to strangers?" Jack commented with a cautious smile. He was trying to lighten the awkward and unsure mood I seemed to be in and as usual, he made me smile - even if it was just a little.

"I spoke to you, didn't I?" I pointed out.

"Ah, but the monks knew me and you knew the monks so that doesn't count," he explained and I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms throwing him an 'oh, really?' kind of face.

"Here," he held out the bag with the necklace to me and I accepted it with a thankful bow of my head, "Shall we go home now?"

"Home," I repeated thoughtfully.

"Well, my home. You don't have to call it home if you don't want to. I mean you can if you do want to but you don't have to. I know that you're only staying with me because I'm forcing you to but I hope that you're still comfortable because I don't want you not to be. I want you to still feel like you're in a house that could be home even if only temporary in your case," he rambled and I had to cut in with laugh before he ran out of breath.

"Yes, Jack, let's go home."

"Okay, good," he stopped and took a deep breath before he smiled back at me.

We began walking back the way we came, heading back towards the car park to his vehicle which he called the 'Jackmobile' - what a surprise, huh? As we walked I kept looking back over my shoulder and around as we went along, trying to see where the blonde had gone and only half listening to what Jack was saying.

By the time everything was in the boot and back seats of the odd oval shaped car and we were strapped in and ready to go, I could still feel the presence somewhere close by. It was only as we were driving out of the car park did I see him leaning against a wall near the exit seemingly waiting for us.

When he noticed me staring, with Jack unaware beside me - just waiting for a break in the line of cars so that he could pull out on to the road and we could head home - the blonde smiled warmly at me, as if we were friends, and waved. I just stared back at him wide-eyed and confused. If not Heru then he was something to do with the three of us reincarnated souls or at least he knew about us and that made me nervous somehow.

* * *

Once we were back at Jack's, I rushed upstairs and in to the bathroom with some of the bags and decided to change from another outfit consisting of Jack's clothing into one of _my_ new outfits. Rummaging through the bags that I had grabbed without checking, I pulled out a grey checkered skirt with a pair of black three quarter length leggings and a long baggy black vest top. I had gotten used to wearing Jack's baggy vest tops and they were actually quite comfortable, at least now with my own they fit properly so there was no chance of unwanted body exposure which I had to be weary of before.

I looked in the mirror and turned around to look in all of the other mirrors to see if what the back looked like as well. The smile grew bigger. Clothes that fit! My own clothes too! It felt nice, oddly satisfying.

Grabbing the bags of leftovers for the coming days, I exited the bathroom and wondered down the stairs on to the second floor where Jack had said would be my new room. It was just down the hall to his room. I turned the handle and swung the door open.

It was so much prettier than the last plain, windowless, dusty room I had been in up until now. I looked around in awe it was such an upgrade and I chuckled to myself at that thought.

The wall with the door I had just entered through and the opposite wall with the big wide window, were both painted white. The wall to my right was painted black and the opposite wall, to my left was black with red and white flowers and bits of gold weaving in out of the gaps between them. The bed was also a double bed with a clean black spread, and with a white headboard and posts, positioned against the white wall beside the door. The curtains were also black as was the mat that covered the wooden floor boards.

As I walked in I wondered where the wardrobe was that Jack had told me about when I noticed an open door in plain black wall and gasped when I realised that it was a walk in wardrobe. I jumped up and down and squealed in excitement. I generally wasn't this girly and thank god Jack wasn't watching but oh my god! I felt so special right now!

Just as I was finishing hanging up my new things, Jack cleared his throat in the kind of way you would to announce that you were there without literally saying anything. I turned my gaze to him and smiled.

"Hi," I said as I hung up a red pair of jeans on the rail. That was it, everything unpacked and hung up. I turned to him and spread my arms and asked, "So, what do you think?"

He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out and he nodded still trying to find words and I looked down at myself and felt slightly embarrassed, "I don't look bad, do I?"

"N-no! That's not it," he stuttered and then stepped towards me, "Turn around."

I narrowed my eyes at him and asked, "Why?"

He laughed, "I'm not gonna do anything weird. Just turn around."

I contemplated the idea for a moment and then sighed and did as I was told. Seconds later the necklace was lowered around my neck and clipped behind me.

"There," Jack said and I looked down at the silver moon and the black sun resting just over my chest. I turned back to Jack as he said, "Now I can tell you that you look...um, well, gorgeous."

My eyes snapped up to his and his smile faltered maybe from surprise, I guess. "Thank you," I replied sincerely. Recently I had been told that I was pretty and whatnot but for some reason when Jack had said gorgeous just now, for me, that _I_ was gorgeous...my heart skipped a beat.

"No problem," he replied.

"But really, for all of this stuff and for the compliment," I explained and then repeated, "Thank you, Jack."

"Well, I treat my friends with care," he said averting his gaze as a thin blush crept up on his cheeks.

"I thought you were still going to be an arse, just not as much of one," I reminded him and he smiled turning his eyes back to mine.

My eyes trailed back to his left eye and the bruise was still there though it was almost gone, I closed the gap between us without thinking and touched his cheek gently, "Hey, it's almost healed."

He didn't say anything just stared back at me. His eyes were staring in to mine and I knew he felt the same pull that I did. But we still barely knew each other...or at least that's what my mind screamed at me and so I side stepped and walked out of the wardrobe in to the bedroom again. Immediately shutting down any other event that could have happened had we stayed gazing in to each others eyes - if anything, that is...maybe I was imagining it. A_lways awkward, Rae, always bloody awkward!_

"Well then, I think I'll have a nap now," I forced out an awkward sounding laugh and internally cringed. Why did I say nap? He knew full well that I didn't sleep anymore than I had to because of the nightmares. He knew how much they scared me.

I saw his shoulders deflate as he sighed and then a second later he turned to me and straightened up with a smile and laughed with me. He walked out of the wardrobe and shut the doors behind him, while saying as he made his way to the other door, "Okay, I'll stay close in case of the...the night terrors, you know?"

"Thanks," I nodded and watched him leave.

"Rae?" Jack kept the door at just a crack with him peering in from the outside as if he was scared. I waited for him to continue. After a short pause he said, "You look really beautiful."

"Thank you," I replied but he hadn't finished.

"Not just now. Every day," he shut the door with a last, "Sweet dreams."

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**Apologies for any spelling mistakes and/or grammar errors - I was using wordpad for this chapter so if the online spell checker hasn't worked fully I apologise for that too. I would normally use Microsoft Word but that requires turning on the main old computer in the house and I don't think my mother would appreciate that at 12 o'clock in the morning :') so had to use my netbook which unfortunately for me doesn't have Microsoft suite on it :'(**

**Anyway, regardless of all that, I hoped you enjoyed the chapter and hopefully can't wait for the next one ;)**

**Remember to Read &amp; Review!**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	24. Chapter 24

**HAPPY NEW YEAR! Heheh...long time no see, eh? Yeeeeeeah, sorry. As an apology here is a long chapter with some humour in it and a new character for us all to meet and two characters for Rae to meet. I'm moving the story along now as well, so bare with me.**

**Questions and constructive criticism is welcomed, flames are ignored ^_^**

**Enjoy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!**

* * *

***~ The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 24 ~***

I had woken up with a message from Jack saying he would be gone for a while and it _had_ been while. It had been another long period of Jack being gone – still something to do with his capture of China like he had said last time – and it had also been another long period of waking up terrified and alone. He had taken up the habit of calling me around seven in the evening to see how I was and to tell me about his progress that day. Told me he had been building while he was gone and I had put that down to why there weren't as many Jackbots around as usual.

Wuya had unfortunately stayed behind to 'keep an eye on me' which I had promised her wasn't necessary but she wouldn't listen. Prisoners couldn't be trusted apparently – even if the one in charge of my capture says it's alright to leave me alone.

She was doing my head in!

In the morning she would nag me to no end about the nightmares. She would ask me endless questions about what had happened, who the boy was and what the shadows and melting could mean. I refused to tell her everything because I didn't even know what they meant myself, and I just didn't want to admit to anyone that I had dreamt of Jack – no.

Then after getting dressed for the day, she would badger on at me about training. She thought that it was a good idea to start working on the shadow control and since she was ghost, and a witch at that, I couldn't exactly use the same excuse as I had with Jack. In the end to make her shut up I would just go down to the garden for an hour or so and let her shout commands at me. I hated to admit that my abilities had grown but had it been by my own motivation and desire to grow alone I would have been proud. The fact that Wuya was a part of it dampened the whole fulfilment and level of achievement that I felt.

Next were the annoying reminders to eat fewer snacks and more vegetables at dinner. She was really beginning to sound like my Nan who only visited me and Dad around Christmas time.

"How many carrots have you eaten, Rachel?"

"Enough, Nan," I would reply and then mumble while rolling my eyes, "For goodness sake." It had made Dad laugh which was such a rare thing in past few years. The fact that now Wuya was beginning to act and sound like one of the close relatives was super irritating and I was snapping at her more than usual.

In the evening before Jack's call she would start teaching me about meditation and manifestation. I didn't really care for it so I only gave her a half-arsed effort. It lead her to tell me how different I was from Luna which would always lead me to remind her how I wasn't Luna, I was Rae. The phone would then ring and I would flee the 'lesson'.

I tried to stay on the phone as long as possible so that I could speak to Jack more and speak to Wuya less. When I was on the phone she left me alone knowing that I would completely ignore her entire existence while I was occupied with my friend on the other end of the phone. But even then, on the phone there were awkward pauses here and there and the constant memory of what Jack had said the night before he left making me blush at the simplest things that he told me about his day.

But of course the conversation would die down in to a quiet hum of our surroundings which would end in a small 'talk to you later' or 'see you soon' and as soon as I hit the end button you could guarantee that the old hag was ready to pounce on me again.

"Drink more water!", "Go for a jog around the grounds!", "Read this, written by a psychic four years ago! It has an understanding close to magic,", "Have you eaten dinner yet?", "Don't sit around! Use the time you have to train your soul!", "It's time for rest! Sleep now!", "You won't have nightmares every night! Grow up!", "Sleep, Rachel!"

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I shot up in bed desperately searching the room for any of the monsters that were just circling me a moment ago. When I realised I was alone I shut my eyes and exhaled heavily leaning on the bed post. _Man, I wish Jack was here._

It was the Tuesday of the third week since Jack had been gone again, and luckily I realised it was three in the morning, meaning Wuya wouldn't come to start my day for another three hours. Good because today I wasn't following her schedule, I wasn't even going to be in the house.

I quietly slid out of bed and crept in to the wardrobe. I pulled on some long black leggings and a long white jumper that was warm enough that I didn't need a coat or cardigan. I used the Tangle Web Comb to hold up my hair; and I thought I'd keep it with me while I was out in case of an emergency. I grabbed my knee length boots and finally the necklace that I hadn't stopped wearing since Jack had bought it for me. I knew why I liked it – heck even that strange blonde guy knew – but there was something about it that bugged me and I just couldn't put my finger on it.

Anyway, once all attire was adorned I silently crept to the window and slid the lower panel up as quietly as was humanly possible. I then peered out to see if there were any crazy old ghost ladies or jackbots below. When I saw there were none, I took a deep breath, calming my nerves and then climbed out. I sat perched on the edge of the windowsill and looked around for a way to climb down. Of course the gutter was too far away for me to use leaving me with plan B – the shadows.

I looked down for what I needed. The hedges of the garden were shedding some silhouettes on the ground and they were close enough for me to draw up – I hoped. I held out one hand to them beckoning them up, while the other hand clung to the window pane.

Slowly their forms dragged across the ground lazily in my directions and, once underneath me, they began to rise. Like a few weeks ago when I had fallen from the jackbots' doorway, after chasing the voices of my friends, the shadows formed a sort of pillow for me to land safely on. Holding my breath, I jumped and landed in their ghostly yet tangible arms. They lowered me to the floor and receded quicker than they had come to my aid, knowing that their mistress was still uneasy about their presence – but coming to terms with it, at the very least.

I looked around. There was most likely more than one jackbot manning the front of the household – because of course walking out the front door would be too easy – so I just walked to the wall that was directly in front of me and looked up.

I remembered the first time I came here with the monks. I remembered how easily they had flung themselves over the wall like they were weightless.

_Hm…_

I took five long strides back and, with determination…dashed forward as fast as I could. As I came to wall again I jumped.

_Oh my god! I can do it!_

Or at least I thought I could until I didn't jump quite high enough and my body below the waist collided with the wall throwing me back. I landed on the ground with a thud.

"Ow…" I hissed trying to stay quiet while the hit to my stomach ached. I looked up at the top of wall again and glared in frustration, _Damn! I really thought I could do it. _I sighed as I rose to my feet wiping away the dirt, _well with all this training the old hag is putting me through, I'll be able to jump the wall eventually._

For now I just commanded the shadows to create a sort of stairway for me to climb to the top and I just jumped down from the other side.

Ah! Freedom. I breathed in the cool morning air with closed eyes and spread my arms out. It was by now, five past four and the sun was just over the hills, making its slow ascent in to the sky.

What should I do first? I could do anything! I could go to town, I could wander the forest, I could even go back to the Temple. But I'd have to be sneaky, not all heroic like last time, _although you wouldn't have stayed with Jack otherwise. _However true that voice at the back of my mind was, I had still lost contact with my other friends because of my reckless moment of trying to play the hero.

What had happened to the others? I thought about it as I began just walking without any real destination in mind.

I hadn't seen Master Fung and Dojo since Raimundo and I had run off from chasing one of my counterparts. I hoped that he was okay but although he looked rather old, I had been told by the others over diner that he was very strong and agile for his age and as for Dojo, well he was a dragon for goodness sake…so then why hadn't I seen him?

I wondered what had happened to Raimundo as well. I hadn't seen him since he told me to stay hidden and I had just jumped out to help…and failed miserably. I also hoped that he was alright, but unlike me he seemed to move soundlessly, so I'm sure that he would have been absolutely fine. Especially with all the commotion I made. It might have given him a good distraction to use as cover.

Since the day that I had been kidnapped myself, I _had_ seen Kimiko, Omi and Clay but only briefly and only because they were being moved to god knows where. All I know is that wherever they were now, Jack had promised me that they would be kept safe, just locked up; and although that wasn't what I wanted for my friends, it was better than the alternative of keeping them out of the way.

But even still, after that promise, I wanted proof that they were well. I wanted to see my friends again. To see them smiling – that would be the evidence that they were still okay, still themselves.

Lost in my thoughts I failed to notice the presence that was watching me from across the road until they cleared their throat drawing my attention. I looked around briefly before letting my eyes stray to the sound. I was about a mile away from the Spicer grounds on a road that was sister to a vast forest on one side and a great lake on the other.

After locating myself I let my eyes fall on to the figure that was just peeking out from behind a tree on the forest side. I couldn't see them clearly as they were overshadowed by the woods of course, but I could tell from here at least that it was a woman's figure.

A silent moment passed between us as she just stared at me while I stared at her and the wind blew a breeze making the few loose strands of my hair and the cloak that she wore dance about us.

"Um, can I help you?" I asked uncertainly.

She laughed and sound was almost musical. She shook her head and smiled at me as the laughter quietened. "That's my role, not yours," she told me.

"Oh, um," I wasn't sure what to say to that. Maybe she was waiting for a reason and had mistaken me for someone else. I looked around but saw no one coming or going. I just turned back to her and shrugged, "I don't really need any help."

She smiled again seemingly pleased at something – this woman was odd. She spoke again with that sweet happy voice of hers, "I am happy to hear that, child. Very happy indeed."

"Um…okaaay…well, I'm gonna go now, so…" I turned to start walking rapidly away but instead turned to face the blonde boy from the mall.

"Hey, cutie!" he greeted me and lifted his hand for a half-arsed wave, "Ah, I see you're still into that necklace. Looks better on you – I would have suggested the earrings instead though."

"What?" I looked between them confused as to how he had just appeared out of nowhere. Wasn't I supposed to feel his presence when he was near? I looked back at him again, "What are you doing here so close to Jack's…? Are you following me?"

"Following you? Me? No," he shook his head and then appeared thoughtful. A moment later he looked over to the lady in the shadows, "I wasn't following her, was I? I was merely finding her," he looked back to me and smiled again, "Yes, I was merely finding out where you were…though it was a lot harder with you tagging along," he said now glaring at the woman he then added as if annoyed while he placing a hand on my head to make his point, "It's like you're some sort of cloaking device for her. I thought it would have been easier to locate her with you."

The hidden lady replied sounding irritated as well, while I pushed the blonde's hand off of my head and a created a about three feet of space between us, "It would have been but you insisted on taking the lead. We would have already completed this task if you had just kept quiet and obeyed like a good little boy."

"Hey, lady, I'm a grown man now, okay? You see this stubble? That's manly stubble," he then turned to me and made for my hand, "Here, feel it!"

"What? No!" I cried confused as I jumped back.

The woman groaned from the shadows, "Leave her alone, boy, what did I tell you?"

"You've been telling me for the past few weeks not to scare her and I haven't. Not once, however, did you tell me that I can't show her how much of man I was," he looked in my direction and winked making me blush with everything that that could have implied.

"Touch her like that I'll kill you," the woman growled her musical tone turning icy and cold.

"What the hell is this? What task? Who are you guys?" I shouted before anyone could say anymore.

"You remember me, don't you?" the blonde asked smiling happily in a carefree way, "Shall I give you a hint, Chandra?"

"Th-That's not my name," I stuttered taking a slow step away. Maybe leaving the grounds wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Not anymore, no," he agreed shrugging as he followed me, "But it was. I know that you can't possibly remember me for sure, because the moon never remembers. But you know of me, right?"

I took a deep breath and looked over to the other woman, she remained still but she was watching intensely also waiting for my answer. I looked back up at him, he had closed the distance again was looking over me. I quietly answered, "I…er…well, you're either…are you Heru?"

His smile grew so bright it almost illuminated and with the power that he supposedly possessed that was a possible act that he could have performed.

He rushed me, scooping me up in his arms before I had a chance to react. He held me close to him and cried merrily, "Oh, how I love it when you acknowledge me!" He turned to the hidden lady and asked, "What did you say her name was now?"

_What? _I thought confused, _How would she know my-?_

"Rachel," the woman answered without a seconds thought. I tried to look at the woman again but it was difficult as the Heru of today kept spinning me around excitedly screaming about how excited he was and so quickly that I barely managed to hear any of it.

"Ah, Rachel, you have no idea how much I know about your pasts. How much I know about you, well, physically anyway, mentally you're a different person most likely. But I know your body. I've seen it with my own eyes. That sounds a little creepy, I don't mean it like that – well, I do as well but you gave your consent! Honest! But the point is that I know about that birthmark on your inner thigh! I also know how your eyes shine in the sunlight like molten lava or gold. I've always liked your eyes especially when you looked at me with them and they were filled with love and joy…and a few times disgust – but that was only cause you thought I was trying to steal from you! That's how met most of the time. I'd recognise you, creep up as close as I could to check if it was really you and you'd nearly kill me thinking that I was a thief. Then I'd tell you things about yourself, prove to you that I could be trusted and Ariel helped sometimes too if he was there and so did she but she wasn't always as helpful. I don't think she likes me very much but that's not my fault. Anyway, that was how our journeys together started most of the time, at least this time around you haven't try to kill me! Instead you recognised me on your own – with the exception of hints and tales of the past from everyone around us! But see you need that whereas Ariel, Ever and I don't. We remember most everything – well they do, though I still know a lot! And –" the boy just didn't stop for breath and I was getting dizzy from all of his spinning and rapid chatter.

"Ravi!" the boy finally stopped and froze at the new voice on the scene. I couldn't see where this new person was as the boy had his back to the sound and had me grasped tightly in his arms in a sort of bridal style. I couldn't even see over his shoulder. In a stern voice they ordered, "Put the girl down and be silent."

He obeyed soundlessly, placing me on the ground but still staying by my side. That's when a couple of his comments finally registered, "Did you say you'd seen me naked?"

His eyes flickered down to me and he smirked causing a deep blush to riddle my features.

"Rachel Wood," I looked to voice and found another woman dressed similarly to the one hiding in the trees but standing out in broad daylight with the hood of her cloak hanging around her shoulders not hiding her face at all. She had long wavy blonde hair and naturally tanned skin and her eyes looked familiar as well. She smiled at me kindly, "It nice to finally meet you in this life."

"Um…and who are you?" I asked and then I looked to the hidden lady and added, "And you too? I still don't know who you are either?"

"Why of course they're the oracles of the Sun and Moon, Moonchild," I spun around yet again to another voice and finally saw a face that I knew of yet had never met before. It was Jack's idol, Chase Young. He had spoken of Chase many times, told me that he would introduce me eventually – not that I was all that eager with him being an evil lizard man and all.

I finally realised that I was afraid. If such an evil warlord like Chase was here with all these people from my past…what were they planning on doing with me? Oh why hadn't I just stayed at the Spicer's and endured Wuya's nagging? What had I gotten myself into?

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**Sorry for any spelling mistakes - please bare in mind that I am British so I will spell things differently to some of you. Yet again questions and constructive criticism is welcomed, flames are ignored ^_^**

**Thank you for reading, be sure to stay tuned, next chapter should be uploaded quicker than this one.**

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	25. Chapter 25

***Awkwardly laughing* Hahaha...did I say I'd be quicker than last time?...hehehe - Whoops! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Really I've been having such a kafuffle with my working life and I basically forgot all about the next upload. Then Foxchick1 messaged me last week and reminded me - which also reminded me how much of a shit author I can be sometimes! Apologies, my friends!**

**Anyway, thanks to Foxchick1 for this chapter being uploaded quicker than it probably would have been!**

**Enjoy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!**

* * *

***~ The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 25 ~***

The soft breeze had slowly ceased to flow but the chill had plummeted to a deadly cold. I shivered as I looked around at all of them, just standing there watching me.

Ravi, the twenty-first century bearer of light, stood right next to me. He was looking down at me and I could feel such intensity in his gaze it made me wonder how much he remembered from our pasts together. We were clearly close - I could have figured that out even without his little explosion earlier.

My eyes then travelled over to Chase who stood a few feet behind Ravi; the evil lizard man standing with such confidence and assurance that it made me feel uneasy. He was smirking at me too, like he knew exactly what I was thinking and that added to the hard lump that was forming in the pit of my stomach.

I turned my head then to the Oracle of the Sun, standing slightly turned toward the other Oracle who was still partially hiding. The Sun wore no smug expression like Chase nor any kind of interest or adoration like Ravi. Instead she looked at me as if I was in her way - an obstacle.

Finally my eyes landed on the woman who hid beneath the trees and even then beneath the hood of her cloak. The Oracle of the Moon. Strangely her gaze was just as intense as Ravi's. Her eyes so bright it was as if they were glowing despite not being in any direct light source. They were orbs of amber piercing in to mine...they were familiar.

Goosebumps rushed over the surface of my skin as my mind raced. They clearly weren't all here just to meet me. So then why were they here...and did I get any say in the matter? Something told me, no.

"So...I take it this isn't some sort of," I shrugged, "'How do you do?' huh?" I watched their unchanging expressions and nodded, "I see."

By the looks of them all I stood no chance of victory in escaping but if they thought that I would be going down without a fight, they were sorely mistaken.

In the next instant I spun and launched myself towards the forest, "Then I'll be going!"

I chose to take the cover of the woods as the trees would help me to hide and escape plus all of the shadows would be there for me to use immediately, if need be.

At least that was the plan but I didn't quite make it in to the cover of greenery. I had just reached the treeline when a huge ball of blue flames came hurtling toward me from the side. I saw it a second too late and it hit me causing the sleeve of my white jumper to be singed and crumple up exposing the skin of my right arm as it burned and sizzled as I was thrown off of my feet.

I fell on to my left and yelled out. A searing excruciating pain shot through my entire body, like nothing I had ever felt before. I grit my teeth realising that I didn't have any time to waste, however unbearable the pain was, and I rolled on to my feet.

I risked a glance down at my burnt arm through the huge crisp hole in my sleeve before glaring at the Oracle of the Sun with her hands alight with flames licking and flickering about her palms and fingers. The skin on my right arm was red raw and bleeding in places. It would definitely scar.

This woman had scarred me for trying to run. A new sense of fear swept over me. Whatever this was...it was serious.

I looked back at the forest just a few feet away from me but then the crunch up pebbles under feet drew my attention back to the witch with her flaming hand outstretched toward me and a foot forward in a readying stance. I frowned; she seemed to be one step ahead of me.

I jolted to the side to appear as though I was going to chance running but really it was just a hop. Sure enough a blue ball of fire was flung and went whizzing past my head blowing a few loose strands of my hair.

Without hesitating I reached up and snatch the Tangle Web Comb from atop my head and held it out in front of me. As my hair fell around my face in dark waves, I yelled with confidence, "TANGLE WEB COMB!"

The fingers of the comb shot out lightning fast and snapped themselves around the oracle, covering her from her ankles to her mouth and muffling her cry.

As if not even fazed, I heard Chase mumble sounding bored already, "I knew Spicer would lose the Shen Gong Wu at some point."

As Ravi ran to the Sun's side, I looked over at Chase and corrected him while glaring, "He didn't lose any of them. He just gave me this one – as a gift."

Chase just stared back at me for a moment that was slightly too long and unnerving, then finally purred as his smirk returned, "Really?"

Before I could ask what he was all smug about I was distracted by the sound of angry curses and shouts. I turned my head just in time to realise a blue flame hurtling toward me. I lunged forward ducking as the flame went soaring overhead bursting behind me.

"Please calm down, you know we need her," Ravi mumbled, as he walked beside the now free oracle who was advancing towards me with her eyes alight with fury and her nostrils flaring.

As I dodged another fire ball it occurred to me that the boy was acting different in the presence of the woman. Normally he seemed loud and full of life, but now he seemed timid and quiet. Despite the situation, I found myself wondering why.

"Zaira, you should stop before you hurt her," the Moon snapped.

"Hurt me?" I repeated incredulously. My left arm was scorched, still stinging and dripping with blood. Was she blind?

The Sun whipped her head round and screamed back at her, "I am not letting her get away and ruin the plan! We have waited too long for this!" She then glared at me and growled, "Besides, she'll thank us when it's all over."

"If I grant her such freedom," Chase commented, "Which is one of the agreements."

The Sun's eyes flickered over to him and she smiled this time, "Of course."

They shared a look that I didn't understand and by the way his eyes switched between them neither did Ravi.

I took this brief moment where she didn't have her eyes focused on me to make a move. I used my power to push Ravi's shadow slightly more to the left, closer to the oracle and darted behind a tree in the next moment.

Zaira – as was apparent of her real name – saw me move in her peripheral vision and shot her arm out without even thinking about it. But she hadn't seen nor expected the shadow to have moved, even less that it had become solid. She tried to take a step and in doing so tripped, throwing her fire ball in the wrong direction. It whizzed towards the Oracle of the Moon instead but she just side-stepped, without shock or panic evident on her face, and it missed her completely.

I was frozen for a moment because as the fire ball zoomed passed the Moon it illuminated her and I saw her face…no…

So shocked at what must have been my mind playing tricks on me I didn't notice him sneak up behind me.

"I'm really sorry to have to do this to you, Rachel," I jumped and whipped my head round to suddenly be blinded, "But we need you."

I screamed and clawed at my face with my free hand to find nothing there. All I could see was the colour white and nothing else. Ravi had shone a light so bright in to my eyes he had blinded me.

"You won't be needing this," I heard the Sun hiss from beside me as the Tangle Web Comb was snatched from my grasp.

"Let's go," Chase ordered, "We'll continue our search for the Spirits back at the palace."

* * *

"Okay, You! You place those blocks over there and you! You can go take a rest. You earned yourself an oil break," Jack had been working all day – or more likely bossing his robotic forces around all day. It had been this way for the three weeks that had passed since he started this project.

After wishing Rae a goodnight and almost running from his embarrassment the only thing to keep his mind preoccupied was to think of ways to better his Heylin reputation. That's when it struck him!

Chase had a palace! Even Wuya erected herself a castle when she returned the first time! If he was ever to rule he needed his own lair! So he had been building himself a structure that was huge and - if Jack could say so himself – magnificently evil!

He also had his robot army slowly advancing over the country of China, slowly but surely bit by bit taking over.

He was getting rather excited that his plans were actually working out lately. He couldn't wait to speak to Rae every evening to tell her what he had been up to each day and what achievements he had made during his time away.

Jack also missed her. Rae had become a friend that he enjoyed the company of – maybe the only true friend he had. He wondered if she was alright and how she was coping with her night terrors but she never went in to detail about them over the phone. She just said that she'd be alright. From all the mornings he had been there to calm her down he knew that wasn't quite true. But he knew that she'd be uncomfortable if he pried so he let her believe that he had bought her bravery. She was strong alright, but not entirely brave – not with her dreams and not with her shadows.

Jack sighed leaning against one of the pillars that was one of the first things to be built and thought about her. How was she doing now?

From what she had told him over the phone, Wuya was probably making her sick from all of the ghost lady's incessant nagging. He laughed quietly thinking about it – he _knew_ how that felt!

Thinking about his closest friend while watching his army building his Heylin kingdom, made Jack feel more powerful than he had ever felt before. It made him feel like he was finally in control of something! Something big and important.

He stood up straight and breathed in deeply through his nose closing his eyes to relish in this moment.

In the next he was kicked in his mid-back, pushed round and punched hard in the face.

Such a shock the sudden attack was, Jack didn't even register the pain until he saw that Raimundo was stood over him clutching the neck of his jacket, holding him just up from the ground.

"Raimundo?" Jack wheezed. The kick to his back at knocked some of the air out of his lungs, he coughed.

"Where are my friends, Spicer? I'm not playing with you!" Raimundo warned him.

"Oh, yeah, thanks for clearing that up," Jack croaked sarcastically, "Cause, y'know, I wasn't sure if you maybe wanted to play Tag when you punched me in the face."

Raimundo grunted and punched him again and let go of Jack's collar. The goth groaned and clutched his face as he his head hit the ground.

"Where's Kimiko? Omi and Clay?" Raimundo demanded towering over the red head who was still clutching his nose on the ground, "What about Rae? What did you do to her?"

"Why do you assume I did something to her?" Jack grumbled, and leaned on his elbow. He looked up at Raimundo and although he may have been in the lower position, he glared angrily up at Rai showing that he was not afraid or weak today, "Yeah, I locked up the other monks, but you guys have never shown me any kindness! You kick my arse whenever you get the chance!"

"Never shown you any – we let you stay at the temple multiple times because you had nowhere else to go or because you were in danger!" Raimundo roared in anger, "How did you repay us? By repeatedly stealing the Shen Gong Wu and betraying us! You expect us to react kindly to that?"

Jack sighed deeply knowing that part of what the monk was saying was true but he didn't want to admit that to himself much less aloud. He averted his gaze and grumbled, "You wouldn't have let me stay if the old man hadn't said anything. You guys hated me, you always have."

"Yeah, cause you give us so many reasons not to," Raimundo snapped sarcastically and spitefully and kicked out at Jack.

But Jack was just a tad quicker, "THIRD ARM SASH!"

The clawed arm of the material shot out from the cover of Jack's coat, where it had been hidden and grabbed hold of Raimundo's foot and pulled hard. Raimundo fell and landed with a harsh thud to the ground. Jack used this time to get back on his feet.

Now _he _was the one towering over the weakened. Jack was the one in control this time, and he would be staying in control, "Sure, you guys gave me shelter when I needed it but you never did that because you cared! You did that because it was your duty! To protect the needy – of which I was at those times of course! In need! But you didn't then have to beat me to a pulp for any reason you could come up with. Your friends are locked up but did I beat the crap out of them? No, I didn't! But I should have! So that they would know what it feels like! As for Rae, I let her stay at my place free to roam! She's free! We're actually quite close in fact!"

"You're lying," Raimundo grumbled, narrowing his eyes up at Jack. He knew that if he tried to attack or get up that Third Arm Sash would move so quickly he'd be back on the ground before his mind could even process the force of the hit, "Rae wouldn't take sides with the enemy and she'd come looking for her friends if she was free!"

Jack laughed manically, for he had the upper hand for once and he didn't even have to lie. It was all truth – so what, he was exaggerating a few things here and there but the main points were fact, "Sure you guys are all friends and you probably think she's kinda cute and all – what guy wouldn't? But you only knew her for a week. Was it even that?" Jack loved watching the turmoil on the monk's face that he was desperately trying to hide right now, "Yeah, she's worried about you all. But that's cause she's such a wonderful, lovely human being. So caring. I know that about her because I've known her for over a month or two now. I still don't know everything of course – but I know her a lot better than you do and she and I are friends. She's _nice _to me. She treats me fairly. She treats me like another person. Another normal person."

Jack paused, his eyes trailing away in thought at the revelation that no one besides his mother had ever given a damn about him. Then Rae enters his life with people that despise him and she's totally different. She laughs with him not at him and she smiles genuinely and chats with him about things. Normal things.

He wanted to smile at the thought but repressed it, now's not the time. He sighed and looked down at Raimundo as if tired, "Unlike _you_ she got to know me first before she decided that I was Heylin therefore not deserving of even a little consideration."

"But _that's_ the _thing_! You're Heylin!" Raimundo cried, "_You_ don't consider other people before you decide to attack just so you can take over! How can you be such a hypocrite?"

"Shut up," Jack grumbled averting his eyes again and glaring at a wall just a little way off.

"You never had to be the bad guy but you chose that path because you're too lazy to try and be the good guy for once. Either that or you're so incompetent that you'd fuck up even if you tried to play the good guy!" Raimundo continued his voice rising.

"I said be quiet!" Jack snapped, clenching his fists.

Raimundo continued, "You wonder why you've never had any friends? It's because you don't work for it and you're not loyal to any one you know! You rat on people, sell out people before they get even a glimpse of whoever this '_real'_ you is. Okay, it was Master Fung's idea to let you stay at the Temple but who knows, we could be bros by now if you hadn't stuck two fingers up at us as you ran away with half the Wu!"

"I'm warning you," Jack growled directing a deadly stare down at the monk at his feet.

"You put people down a lot too y'know – when you don't even know them – and that's clearly because you're insecure. You have such low self-esteem that you try to push people below you so that you can feel better about yourself. How do you feel now, Jack, knowing that I've sussed you out? Knowing that after all this hard work you've done, everyone still knows that it's all because you're a sad, lonely, self-loathing coward!"

WHACK!

Raimundo's body went flying, his face instantly red from the impact of the punch.

That's when April came running in unaware of the situation, "Raimundo, I can't find them anywhere. Are you sure they're here?"

She froze when she saw Raimundo on the floor looking dazed with a bloody nose and a furious gothic boy standing a few feet away from him now glaring at her.

Jack's eyes widened, "You were distracting me while she snooped around! You bastard! How dare you lecture me about betrayals and trust and loyalty!"

Raimundo grumbled, "My excuse is retaliation, now we're even. What's yours?"

Jack took one step but couldn't move his other leg. Confused, he looked down at his left foot which was still planted on the ground. Why couldn't he move it? He struggled until he looked up and saw the unknown lady with her hand outstretched toward him.

"You're a witch?" he asked and then narrowed his eyes at her. He shouted, "Jackbots!"

Jackbots swarmed them, taking hold of April and binding her wrists together behind her back. They hauled Rai off of the ground and did the same to him. Then they carried them away while Jack still stood by the pillar, now fuming and angry rather than proud.

Jack knew that Raimundo spoke mostly truths but he also knew that, from a long time ago, he couldn't turn back after a certain point. He couldn't change the clock and pretend to be the hero.

Jack knew that he wasn't _good_ enough to be _good_ at something like…being _good_.

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**Please tell me if there are any bits that sound wrong/rushed, any grammar or spelling errors, any problems you may have and/or any questions you may have. Every review is worth the read, they tell me how to improve, they tell me what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. I appreciate everyone that reads, favourites, follows and reviews! Thank you all so much. I'm sorry I'm a terrible uploader of late. I'll try my best to work on that.**

**For now Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**See you next chapter~!**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	26. Chapter 26

**Hey, I uploaded quicker this time ;D and, I was thinking, it's been a long time since I've got a review and it would be nice to receive a little feedback - just a little. ****With that said (and probably ignore, as usual) :)**

**Enjoy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!**

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***~ The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 26 ~***

I don't remember any falling sensation that would have occurred but I must have blacked out as one moment I was panicking and struggling blindly against who I presumed to be Ravi and the next…I was lying down in a quiet, damp room.

I groaned and slowly opened my eyes, terrified that I still wouldn't be able to see. I breathed a sigh of relief as the ceiling above came in to view – it was blurry but it was still there, I could still see.

I looked around as I slowly tried to sit up. I was in a dimly lit cave-like area. The walls and ground were all made from dark red stones and rocks. The walls had jagged edges poking out at dangerous angles in places and the only light source were the burning torches hung up every few feet.

"Rae, you're awake!" I heard the familiar voice and looked around. My eyes then widened as I found him sat curled up in a cage hanging from the ceiling.

"Dojo!" I cried as I hurriedly rose to my feet and made towards him only to be stopped by steel bars.

I gripped them and looked around confused, "We're locked up, kid," the dragon that I hadn't seen in forever explained. He went on, "How you doing? How've you been?"

"I've…" I thought about Jack and suddenly wished, even though I was reunited with a little green friend of mine, that I had never left the Spicer household. But then who knows, maybe _they_ were on their way to capture me there instead. I shrugged, "I've been fine, I guess. What about you? I've heard nothing about you. I thought that you and Master Fung had gotten away, maybe."

"Oh, Master Fung," Dojo wailed with a claw over his head, "The poor guy, is probably wasting away in a cell somewhere. Too scared to even realise what's happening in the outside world. Not getting his Dojo-prepared meals and Dojo-prepared baths and Dojo-supervised exercise! Oh, the poor guy!"

"Dojo, I'm right here," I turned to see Master Fung peeking through the bars of the cage next to my own. I would have already noticed him if not for the walls made of rock that separated me from the cells either side of me.

"Master Fung!" I cried and then I realised, "Are the others here? Clay? Kimiko?"

"I hope you were saving the best till last and not forgetting about me," I heard Omi calling out from a few cells down.

Hope filled my chest, he sounded fine and still like himself. Jack had told me the truth, he hadn't done anything to them, "Of course! I couldn't forget you, Omi! I'm so glad you guys are okay!"

There was silence and the only face I could see clearly from where I was was Dojo's and he looked down at the ground with his eyebrows arched upwards and the corners of his mouth drooping. Something was wrong.

"You guys _are_ okay…aren't you?" I asked. Dojo lifted his gaze to mine, his eyes sad and I was met with silence again, "Why aren't Kimiko and Clay responding? Are they not here?"

"They're here," Master Fung answered, with his eyes closed and his hands clasped together in front of the bars that he was pressed against just so I could see him. My lips trembled with fear at what could be wrong. He took a breath and explained, "They're just not conscious right now."

"What?" I asked, my eyes watering and my vision beginning to blur again from a different cause now.

"Kimiko got in to an argument and in the end challenged one of the Oracles," Master Fung explained.

_Oh god, Kimiko_, I glared at the floor and growled as a silent tear for my friend slid down my cheek, "The Sun."

"No," Master Fung corrected me, "The Moon."

I stared back at him wide eyed. She seemed like the calm one out of the pair of them. She wasn't the one that tried to fry my arm off. In fact she hadn't made any move toward me at all.

The pain was still aching but not as excruciating as it was at first. Remembering how the oracle attacked me, I looked down and that's when it registered that I had bandages wrapped from my right hand to my right shoulder. I also wasn't wearing my white jumper anymore but a black vest top instead.

"The Sun was not innocent in the initial argument but it was the Moon who had made the comment provoking Kimiko to challenge her, as much I tried to calm her down and make her see sense," he sighed deeply, shaking his head, "It was brutal and then Clay tried to step in and save her. That's when the Sun got involved and punished him for intervening in a battle that was not his. An old fashioned rule."

A sob escaped me, I was hit just once and the blast the Sun had delivered to my arm hurt like hell even now. I feared for Clay. How bad was he? I hadn't seen what the Moon could do yet…I didn't know if that was worse. How bad was Kimiko?

I cried for my friends, I also cried for the fact that I thought Jack had kept my friends safe like he promised me he would. He had failed and in doing so hurt me. I pressed my forehead against the bars and took a moment to calm down. I didn't wanna look weak when the enemy came knocking.

"It's okay, Rae," I heard Omi's voice calling again, "We'll all be fine. I give you my word – and that means a lot, after all I am the Dragon of Water!"

I smiled despite the situation, at least Omi was still Omi and Dojo and Master Fung seemed okay.

The smile vanished when the next voice echoed from nearly every inch of the room, "You shouldn't promise things that you have no power over, little dragon warrior."

I scanned all the shadows for her, knowing how she liked to hide and found her glowing amber eyes staring back at me like before. I glowered at her. How dare she hurt my friends!

I saw Master Fung sink out of view back in to his cell and Dojo curl up and avert his gaze from her. What had she done to terrorise all of them. Now I was even more fearful for Kimiko. What had happened to my friend?

"It's good to see you awake, my child," she said, "I was beginning to worry."

I didn't respond, I just stood there gripping the bars and glaring at her with as much hate as I could muster.

She continued as if we were on friendly terms, "I have placed a spell on your wound to increase the speed of the healing process and to numb the pain, otherwise you would not be standing right now. The pain would be too much for you."

"Is that why my friends are unconscious right now?" I snapped.

She pursed her lips and her eyes dragged to the right and I guessed that that meant either Clay or Kimiko was in the cell on my other side in whatever state the Oracles had left them in.

"They were causing unnecessary disruptions," she sighed as if it was tedious and looked back at me. She let out a lazy half laugh, "You look at me as if I have done something wrong and I know that that is what you believe. But I didn't issue the challenge, I only accepted it."

"What have you done to Kimiko?" I growled.

"I won the battle," she replied with a completely serious and calm expression. Before I could say anymore she quickly said, "Anyway that is not what I came here for," she moved closer yet still remained in the shadows, just out of direct light, "I imagine you have many questions. You're younger than Chandra was…then again Chandra clearly wasn't ready as she died."

_Did that mean that…? _She was indeed correct, I did have a lot of question to ask and that was now another one, but I would leave that for later. I had other questions to ask first.

I waited for her to continue but the longer I waited the longer she seemed to stare at nothing in particular with a wide-eyed expression, as if she were daydreaming. I cleared my throat and asked the first of the many questions I had, "Fine, when did Chandra, Heru and Ariel all begin? What was their time?"

She looked up at me with a blank expression and after a moment she answered, "I don't remember. Over three thousand years ago at least."

"What?" I breathed, that was insane. How could anyone remember something from that long ago? How could they remember that much about three people from that long ago? "But how…? Do you oracles have the same ability as Heru and Ariel? As in…do you remember everything from every life you have?"

"I don't know," the Moon answered with a small shrug.

I frowned, "How can you not know? It's either yes or no."

"You can only answer that question if you have lived more than once," she explained.

I narrowed my eyes at her, "What do you mean?"

She sighed and confessed, "I am just under five thousand years old, as are my siblings. We have never died, so I have no idea if we would remember this long life we have lived in the next or not. I don't know."

My jaw almost dropped to the ground. _That was impossible…what?_

"So…do you wander around the Earth until the next SunChild or MoonChild appears?" I asked more than a little baffled.

She smiled then which threw me even more, "Not exactly."

I shook my head. What was I supposed to ask next? I didn't understand any of this? What was the point in all this? What was the point in…

"Why am I the Moon Child? Why is there a MoonChild at all? Why do I have these powers?" I asked and these questions I desperately needed to know the answers to. I needed to know why I was such a messed up little girl when I was younger and even now, all because I could move shadows and manipulate the darkness around me.

"I will tell you how it all began," she stated and stepped forward out of the darkness but that cloak hood of hers still hung a black shadow looming over her face.

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**Please tell me if there are any bits that sound wrong/rushed, any grammar or spelling errors, any problems you may have and/or any questions you may have. Every review is worth the read, they tell me how to improve, they tell me what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. I appreciate everyone that reads, favourites, follows and reviews! Thank you all so much.**

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**See you next chapter~!**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


	27. Chapter 27

**Hey, sorry for the three months of nothingness...I don't really know why I took so long with this. I guess, I just wanted to write it in the correct way.**

**Anywho! Here it is, the Tale of the Oracles; the beginning of the Moon, Sun and Spirit. Of course not everything is explained here but what is explained is how the oracles came about and why Rae, Ravi and the Ariel of today are reborn over and over.**

**Also I'd like to point out in a previous chapter I said April had blonde hair - which she does _now - _but that's not her natural hair colour. Just in case I'm found to not be consistent; although I may have messed something up at some point? I don't know anymore? Please do tell me if something has changed without explanation though, I would greatly appreciate that. Anyway,**

**Enjoy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!**

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***~ The Darkness Inside ~***

***~ Chapter 27 ~***

Four-thousand, eight-hundred and fifty years ago three women all heavily pregnant went in to labour on the same day.

The first two felt the beginnings of child birth at exactly midnight – the dawn of the new day, when everything was pitch black. The first baby born was a girl with deathly pale skin, yet the second woman still had not had her child yet.

Then the third woman entered labour at exactly noon, the half way point when the sun was directly above at its highest point in the sky. The second woman still had not given birth yet. Hours later, the child of the third mother was born with darker, tanned skin and short blonde hair, another girl.

By this point the second mother was crying in fear that something was wrong. Then at exactly midnight the next day, the baby was finally birthed. It was yet another baby girl and she had bright pink skin as if she were freezing. So the woman – although exhausted – used the last of her strength to wrap the baby with her shawl to keep her warm.

The babies, although birthed by different mothers, all shared the same father making them siblings and so they all grew up together. Their father was also the village seer so meditation and magic was normality to them.

They often sat with him throughout their childhood days and watched him meditate; when they got older they joined him and learnt of his ways.

Unlike their father and his mother before him and her mother before her, the three siblings learnt magic with ease. It came naturally to them and – although proud – their father feared that the village leader would become suspicious of their abilities. To be so well taught in their spells and sorcery could suggest tales of demons and they would be hunted by the people out of fear. So he banned them from practicing during the day and from practicing in the village.

He couldn't help but wonder at times why they were so exceptional in the practices of an oracle without even trying. But even if his wives had birthed monsters, they were his daughters and he loved them with all his heart.

After a time the blonde sister grew angry, for her abilities were not as strong as her sisters nowadays. They seemed to progress while she trailed along and struggled to keep up at times. So one morning, just as the sun was rising over the far off mountains, the blonde sister snuck out of the village in to the forest and didn't stop until she reached the clearing in the centre.

The child began to practice and felt much more vitalised and empowered as her abilities seemed to be heightened once again. Happiness flooded the girl's system and she indulged herself in the immense amount of magic that she hadn't been able to practice or even play with since the only-night-time rule.

Meanwhile back at the village, the father had awoken to find one of his daughters missing and since her sisters didn't know anything about her disappearance he grew scared. A search party was formed of the men in the village to look for the girl, with the father and village leader at the head of the group. The sisters didn't want to stay at the village as they also feared for their sister so disobeying their father's orders to stay with women in the clan, the girls followed close behind.

It didn't take them long to find the blonde sister as they could see bouts of light shooting up from within the trees in to the sky. Bright lights and beams shone in to the sky and the father grew even more terrified and tried to race ahead of the others to try and get there first, to warn her.

As he broke free from the treeline he called her name and she turned surprised. When she saw her father she smiled excitedly and motioned for him to watch as she spread her arms, drew in as much power as she could and lifted up a million tiny stars in to the air.

"NO!"

The girl's eyes widened and she stiffened as the other men from the village entered the clearing behind her father. Their faces contorted from wonder in to horror as they realised the little girl had done this. This little girl had created these tiny fragments of light that sparkled and slowly fell around them, disappearing in to the long grass around their legs.

The air was still, their bodies frozen in fear the only sound was the rapid beating of their hearts and the breaths they inhaled.

"Demon!" the village leader had cried.

"No!" the father had fallen to his knees and begged for the village leader to understand that they were good children. He begged for him to understand that they were just good at the mystical arts of their family.

The leader ordered for the father to be taken in too as he had clearly known of this development and had not come forth. He had concealed this devil child in his home and had not seeked out permission from the higher ups, therefore he was guilty of possibly conspiring against the whole village.

As two of the men began to approach the little girl they suddenly fell to the floor unconscious. The village leader then saw the two sisters standing by the treeline, the youngest sister with her hand outstretched.

Orders for all their captures were yelled out and the rest of the men ran in the different directions to catch the little girls. The blonde ran towards her sisters, the eldest with long black hair ran in to the clearing and the youngest with short orange hair retreated back in to the treeline to try and divide the amount of pursuers.

Chaos ensued as men dropped to the ground fast asleep while others screamed that they couldn't see anything apart from white light otherwise complete and utter darkness. Other men screamed that they their feet were stuck to the ground and they couldn't move. All the while the unharmed men continued to reach out and dive for the children as they danced around trees and ran in to the tall grass, crouching low to almost move invisibly. The father cried out for the men to stop.

All of a sudden a painful cry was heard above the noise and everyone stopped and turned to see the village leader standing beside the village seer who had a sword half plunged in to his chest. The girls screamed and cried as they father looked at them each one last time before he fell forward dead, pushing the sword further in to his body.

The unharmed men were able to grab the girls while they watched their father die. But they were not captured, no. They would not be captured now and these men that shed no tears or apologies for their father would not return to the village they would travel with their father in to the next life.

The village leader was smiling triumphantly at the oldest of the girls and she locked eyes with him glaring. His smile did not last as he watched a dark shape travel over the skin and clothes of the man holding her shoulders. The man only realised when he saw if move over his hands and begin to move up his arms and he struggled the whole time until it had consumed him entirely. The village leader grew terrified as he watched the black mass constrict quickly and crush the man within to crumbles and broken pieces of human parts. The pieces and black mass fell in a heap behind her and her eyes clouded over in complete blackness with no whites.

When all the remaining men had realised this they looked at the other girls and saw the blonde had completely white eyes and the man behind her was screaming on fire and the youngest sibling had totally blue eyes the colour of the sky and all the men around her in a three foot radius had fallen to the floor their eyes still open showing that they were not asleep but dead.

The village leader called for a retreat but the black haired sister and blonde had thrown out their hands towards the forest, and dark shadows and streams of brilliant light shot across the floor and sprung up high creating a constantly moving wall of shadow and light blocking the men's exit. Three of the men tried to get through, falling to charred and mangled pieces on the other side.

The youngest sibling ran screaming and as she ran past each man without even touching him he breathed his last and dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. The village leader was terrified as he watched all of the men of his village die around him, he feared for the woman back home.

When every man but one was dead the girls all approached him. He fell to his knees and begged forgiveness and promised whatever it was they wanted they could have.

Before they crushed him they said, "We want to live…now more than ever for our father."

Using the lives of the men as sacrifices, the girls cast a spell on themselves and cut the powers and their abilities in half to offer as a compromise for immortality. The spell would only come into effect after they had matured and had given birth for the first time.

Adria, the oldest sister gave birth to a daughter at the age of twenty-six and hadn't aged since. Her hair was straight, pitch black and her eyes were a warm molten amber. Her powers were the usually more powerful at night as the moon appeared in the sky.

Zaira, the second sister gave birth to a son at the age of twenty and hadn't aged since. Her hair was golden blonde and wavy usually always worn long and loose. Her eyes were a brighter shade of amber and almost orange. Her powers were always multiplied during the day, powered by the light of the sun.

April, the youngest sister gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, at the age of twenty-nine and hadn't aged since. Her hair was ginger and curly in places and her eyes were a dull blue almost grey colour. Her powers were infinitely balanced yet restricted to certain element as such.

The older the three sisters became and the more time that passed with each and every death of their children and their ongoing never ending lives - they began to regret the spell they had cast on themselves and bound their children's lives to. For each of them to live forever their children would be born and reborn again and again with immense powers that they wouldn't be able to suppress and live normally with, until the day came when they all would come together to end it all.

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**Apologies for any spelling mistakes, grammar errors and/or typos. Please bare in mind I am British so I will spell some things differently to American English. Every review is appreciated as they tell me how to improve, what I'm doing wrong, what I'm doing right, etc. Any questions please ask away either in a review or a PM and I will answer promptly or tell you to be patient because it will be explained in an upcoming chapter :)**

**Don't fear curiosity here ^_^ Ask away if you're confused, I won't take a offense :)**

**Remember to Read &amp; Review! ^_^**

**Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


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